Online Desk: Opposition parties across the country rallied behind Rahul Gandhi on Friday as he was disqualified as a Member of Parliament following his conviction in a defamation case. From senior Congress leaders to chief ministers of Opposition-ruled states, everyone hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP-led Central government over the move, reports The Indian Express.

Hours after the disqualification, senior leader Abhishek Singhvi said that the move was nothing but political vendetta on part of the BJP and that the Congress is planning to get a stay on his conviction so as to remove the basis of the disqualification.

“We all know that Rahul Gandhi has been speaking out fearlessly both inside and outside the Parliament. Clearly, he is paying a price for it. The government is rattled. This government is finding new techniques to throttle his voice,” he said.

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has stood beside Congress leader Rahul Gandhi after his disqualification from the member of Lok Sabha.

Mamata Banerjee
Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee, while addressing a gathering, criticised the action against the leader. “In PM Modi’s New India, Opposition leaders have become the prime target of BJP! While BJP leaders with criminal antecedents are inducted into the cabinet, Opposition leaders are disqualified for their speeches. Today, we have witnessed a new low for our constitutional democracy,” she said.

Jairam Ramesh

Giving reaction, senior party MP Jairam Ramesh took to Twitter and said that Congress will not “be afraid or remain silent” because of this decision.

Shashi Tharoor
Third-term Thiruvananthapuram MP and senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said he was “stunned” by the action and its “rapidity” while an appeal was in process.

Derek O’Brien
Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Derek O’Brien criticised the action against Gandhi in a video statement on Twitter. “The BJP are desperate to silence the voice of the opposition

we know they would go to all kinds of lows. But this is the lowest,” the TMC leader said.

Defending Gandhi’s disqualification, Union Minister of State for Law and Justice SPS Baghel has termed it as “lawful” and asserted that “everyone is equal before law”.  He also noted that a BJP MLA was also recently disqualified in Uttar Pradesh following his conviction in a criminal case.

Union minister Bhupender Yadav, a prominent OBC face of BJP, also hit out at the Congress for raising questions on the Gujarat court order, saying the court convicted Gandhi following due process of law but the Congress leader and his party are not able to accept the verdict due to their “arrogance”.