Tag: Anurag Thakur

  • 3 Key Ministers From Modi 2.0 Left Out Of BJP-Led NDA Cabinet |

    PM Modi Swearing-In Ceremony: As BJP leader Narendra Modi took the oath as Prime Minister for the third time on Sunday, many new names are going to uphold cabinet berths in Modi 3.0. However, there are some popular faces that are kept off the Union Ministers list. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former Union Minister Smriti Irani, Anurag Thakur, and Narayan Rane will not be part of the cabinet in the 18th Lok Sabha. 

    Irani contested the Lok Sabha election from Uttar Pradesh’s Amethi, but she faced defeat by over 1.6 lakh votes to Congress loyalist Kishori Lal Sharma. Earlier, she had served as the Women and Child Development Minister during the Modi government’s second term. Five years prior, she had won against Congress’s Rahul Gandhi. 

    On the other hand, Thakur secured a victory in the general election from Hamirpur in Himachal Pradesh, having previously managed sports, information, and broadcasting portfolios. According to sources, he will not be included in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s latest Union Cabinet. 

    Rane served as the Minister of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises during Modi’s second term. He won the Lok Sabha election, representing Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg in Maharashtra. 

    The Modi 3.0 cabinet includes several prominent BJP leaders such as Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Nirmala Sitharaman, S. Jaishankar, Nitin Gadkari, Mansukh Mandaviya, Piyush Goyal, Ashwini Vaishnaw, Dharmendra Pradhan, Bhupendra Yadav, Prahlad Joshi, Kiren Rijiju, C.R. Paatil, L. Murugan, Hardeep Puri, M.L. Khattar, Shivraj Chouhan, Gajendra Shekhawat, Suresh Gopi, and Jitin Prasada. 

  • ‘Congress’ heart resides in Pakistan’: BJP’s Anurag Thakur on Mani Shankar Aiyar’s ‘Respect Pak’ remark – The Economic Times Video

    Hamirpur (HP) : On Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar’s recent statement, Union Minister Anurag Thakur slammed Congress and said that they stay in India but their heart resides in Pakistan, He added that Pakistan doesn’t even have the courage but India knows how to give a befitting reply. Speaking to ANI, Anurag Thakur said “Congress leaders stay in India but their hearts reside in Pakistan. What courage does Pakistan have? India knows how to give a befitting reply.”

  • Anurag Thakur takes jibe at I.N.D.I.A bloc amid rift rumors: 'Was bound to happen'

    Anurag Thakur takes jibe at I.N.D.I.A bloc amid rift rumors: 'Was bound to happen'

  • Ram Mandir inauguration: “People will reject them in upcoming elections,” Anurag Thakur slams Congress

    Union Minister Anurag Thakur slammed the Congress party for declining the invitation to attend the ‘Pran Pratishtha’ ceremony of Ram Lalla in Ayodhya, scheduled later this month and said that people too will “reject” them in the upcoming elections.

    Earlier on Wednesday, Congress declared that it would skip the massive inauguration ceremony being planned for the Ayodhya Ram Temple, saying it was a “political project” of the BJP and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.

    “Whenever Congress criticised Sanatana, whenever it insulted Hindus and whenever it questioned the existence of Lord Ram, we all have seen the condition of Congress after that,” Thakur told reporters on Thursday. He further asserted that Congress only boycotts the events, whether it is the ‘Pran Pratishtha’ ceremony of Ram Temple or anything else.

    “Whenever there is a Parliament session, Congress boycotts it. Whenever there is a speech by Modiji, Congress boycotts it. Whenever good work is done, Congress boycotts it. The people of the country will do the same thing by boycotting Congress in the next elections and will show the way out,” he added.

    Madhya Pradesh CM Mohan Yadav termed it unfortunate and claimed that the grand old party is insulting the ‘pran pratishtha’ ceremony.”This is very unfortunate. First, Congress created obstacles in (the construction) of Ram Temple. Now, they are insulting the ‘Pran Pratishtha’ ceremony. In a way, it has hurt the sentiments of the majority of the population of the country. Congress should apologise,” MP CM said. Chhattisgarh CM Vishnu Deo Sai said that the grand old party has rejected the invitation to the ‘pran pratishtha’ of Ram Temple, and people too will reject them.

    “This is wrong. They show double standards. They sometimes question the existence of Lord Ram and become ‘Chunavi Sanatani’ at other times…They have rejected the invitation to the ‘pran pratishtha’ of Ram Temple today, people too will reject them,” Chhattisgarh CM said.

    Madhya Pradesh Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya said that Congress always questioned the existence of Lord Ram.

    “Congress never looked at Lord Ram from the point of view of reverence, they said that he is imaginary so for them Lord Ram is not the centre of faith. This is an insult to the public sentiments of the country and the public will respond to it in the upcoming elections,” Vijayvargiya told on Thursday.

    Bihar BJP President Samrat Chaudhary also hit out at Congress and said that we are supporters of Sanatana Dharma, when Lord Ram is worshipped, BJP will stand.

    Meanwhile, RJD MP Manoj Jha said that Mahatma Gandhi did not become a devotee of Lord Ram by going to the temple but still he went to heaven.

    “It is wrong to do politics in the name of Lord Ram. There is a direct connection between me and Lord Ram. Gandhi did not become a devotee of Lord Ram by going to the temple, that concept was inside him, and that is why he went to heaven and went saying ‘Hey Ram’,” he added.

    Moreover, Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Ajay Rai said that said that all the Congressmen will visit Ayodhya on Makar Sankranti.

    “The name of Ram is the basis of life in this world. This Makar Sankranti, all of us Congressmen will go to Ayodhya from the state headquarters, Lucknow, to have darshan of Ramlala. We will also visit Hanuman Garhi and worship,” Rai posted on X.

    On Wednesday, senior Congress leaders–Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury–‘declined” the invitation for the grand event in Ayodhya.

    “Lord Ram is worshipped by millions in our country. Religion is a personal matter. But the RSS/BJP have long made a political project of the temple in Ayodhya. The inauguration of the incomplete temple by the leaders of the BJP and the RSS has obviously been brought forward for electoral gain. While abiding by the 2019 Supreme Court judgement and honouring the sentiments of millions who revere Lord Ram, Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury have respectfully declined the invitation to what is clearly an RSS/BJP event,” the Congress said in its statement.

    Preparations are underway in full swing for the Ram Temple ‘Pran Pratishtha’ on January 22, which will draw dignitaries and people from all walks of life.

  • ‘Immature, Non-Serious….’: Anurag Thakur Hits Out At Rahul Gandhi On Mocking Vice Prez Jagdeep Dhanakar |

    New Delhi: In a scathing remark to Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, Union Minister Anurag Thakur said that the leader is ‘immature and non serious’ for joining TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee’s “misdeed” as he mimicked the vice president of India while Gandhi recorded him doing so. “Rahul Gandhi is immature, non-serious and undemocratic. Whether inside the house or outside, this is shameful,” Thakur said.

    He added, “Gandhi, who has been a member of the parliament for so long, has been criticised multiple times for his actions. The country will not forgive Rahul Gandhi for what he did. If an MP was into a misdeed, then he should have stopped him instead of joining him.”

    Earlier this week, a viral video of Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Kalyan Banerjee showed him seemingly imitating Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar. The video also showed Rahul Gandhi recording Banerjee’s act. 

    #WATCH | Chennai, Tamil Nadu: On Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Union Minister Anurag Thakur says, “Rahul Gandhi is immature, non-serious and undemocratic. Whether inside the house or outside, this is shameful… Either by his actions or his speech, he has been criticised multiple… pic.twitter.com/jUMpitoN7l


    — ANI (@ANI) December 22, 2023

    The video drew strong criticism from BJP leaders with Prime Minister Narendra Modi condemning the incident. In a tweet on X, formerly known as Twitter, Dhankar said, “He (PM Modi) told me that he has been at the receiving end of such insults for twenty years and counting but the fact that it could happen to a Constitutional office like the Vice President of India and that too in the Parliament was unfortunate. 

    Soon after the video went viral, Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankar said, “Just a while ago I saw on a television channel that there is no limit to how low one can stoop. Your senior leader was found shooting a video of an unparliamentary act of one of the suspended MPs, sitting out on protest… I just want to say that good sense may prevail on them.”


    Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi, defending his action, said that he did not share the video. “Who insulted and how? MPs were sitting there, I took their video which is on my phone. Media is saying this, Modi ji is saying that but no one has said anything.”

    Similarly, Kalyan Banerjee said that he considers mimicry as an “art” and that he did not intend to hurt anyone. 

    “I have no intention to hurt anyone. However, I have a question. Does he (Jagdeep Dhankhar) really behave like this in Rajya Sabha? Mimicry is an art and it was also done by the PM in Lok Sabha between 2014 and 2019,” the TMC leader said. 

    In another development to the mimicry row, a Delhi-based advocate has also filed a complaint against Banerjee. The case has been transferred to the New Delhi district police.

  • Chinese goods being sold in Rahul’s ‘Mohabatt ki Dukan’: Anurag Thakur

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: BJP leader and Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur on Monday charged that China, the NewsClick website and Congress are linked to an “anti-India umbilical cord” as he cited a news report which alleged that Chinese companies were funding the portal.

    Addressing a press conference along with Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar at the BJP headquarters here, Thakur charged that “Chinese goods are being sold in Rahul ji’s fake ‘Mohabbat ki Dukan’”.

    “If you see the funding network of NewsClick, it was funded by a foreigner Neville Roy Singham and he gets funds from China. This Neville Roy Singham has direct contact with the propaganda arm of the Communist Party of China and the Chinese media company Maku Group,” he said.

    He said “foreign hands” behind the news portal were revealed in 2021.

    “They present fake news in the name of free news. Congress and other parties are supporting them,” he alleged.

    ALSO READ | Rahul attends Lok Sabha, accorded warm welcome by Congress, Opposition MPs on arrival

    BJP member Nishikant Dubey had in Lok Sabha raised the issue of a news report in the New York Times which claimed that NewsClick has received funding from Chinese firms and the money has been used to create an anti-India environment.

    There was no immediate reaction available from the news portal or Congress.

    ALSO READ | Rahul Gandhi slams govt over rising inflation, shares video of his visit to Azadpur Mandi

    NEW DELHI: BJP leader and Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur on Monday charged that China, the NewsClick website and Congress are linked to an “anti-India umbilical cord” as he cited a news report which alleged that Chinese companies were funding the portal.

    Addressing a press conference along with Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar at the BJP headquarters here, Thakur charged that “Chinese goods are being sold in Rahul ji’s fake ‘Mohabbat ki Dukan’”.

    “If you see the funding network of NewsClick, it was funded by a foreigner Neville Roy Singham and he gets funds from China. This Neville Roy Singham has direct contact with the propaganda arm of the Communist Party of China and the Chinese media company Maku Group,” he said.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    He said “foreign hands” behind the news portal were revealed in 2021.

    “They present fake news in the name of free news. Congress and other parties are supporting them,” he alleged.

    ALSO READ | Rahul attends Lok Sabha, accorded warm welcome by Congress, Opposition MPs on arrival

    BJP member Nishikant Dubey had in Lok Sabha raised the issue of a news report in the New York Times which claimed that NewsClick has received funding from Chinese firms and the money has been used to create an anti-India environment.

    There was no immediate reaction available from the news portal or Congress.

    ALSO READ | Rahul Gandhi slams govt over rising inflation, shares video of his visit to Azadpur Mandi

  • Manipur violence: Union Minister Anurag Thakur appeals to Oppn to join discussion in Parliament

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: As Parliament’s Monsoon session remained deadlocked over ethnic violence in Manipur, Union minister Anurag Thakur on Sunday appealed to the opposition parties ‘with folded hands’ to join the debate on the issue.

    Thakur also urged the opposition not to politicise the issue of atrocities against women in the northeastern state.

    The opposition parties have planned joint protests in Parliament on Monday on the situation in Manipur. They have been demanding a statement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Parliament before starting a discussion on the issue. The government has been insisting that Home Minister Amit Shah will speak on the issue and not the prime minister.

    “Atrocities against women are painful, no matter which state the victims belong to. It is the responsibility of the state to curb such incidents,” the minister said.

    He said the government is keen on a discussion on the issue of atrocities on women, which are prevalent in states such as Rajasthan, Bihar, West Bengal and Manipur.

    “We wish that there should be a good discussion on this in the House, where all political parties will participate. Nobody should run away from the debate. It is my request to the opposition with folded hands, do not run away from the discussion,” the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader said.

    He said the opposition should not politicise such issues and should join the discussion in Parliament.

    “The opposition does all this to remain in discussion, but it does nothing to join the discussion,” Thakur said when asked about the protests on the Manipur issue.

    The Monsoon session of Parliament began on July 20 and has witnessed disruptions over the ethnic violence in Manipur, particularly over a video purportedly shot on May 4 and depicting atrocities against women in the state.

    NEW DELHI: As Parliament’s Monsoon session remained deadlocked over ethnic violence in Manipur, Union minister Anurag Thakur on Sunday appealed to the opposition parties ‘with folded hands’ to join the debate on the issue.

    Thakur also urged the opposition not to politicise the issue of atrocities against women in the northeastern state.

    The opposition parties have planned joint protests in Parliament on Monday on the situation in Manipur. They have been demanding a statement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Parliament before starting a discussion on the issue. The government has been insisting that Home Minister Amit Shah will speak on the issue and not the prime minister.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    “Atrocities against women are painful, no matter which state the victims belong to. It is the responsibility of the state to curb such incidents,” the minister said.

    He said the government is keen on a discussion on the issue of atrocities on women, which are prevalent in states such as Rajasthan, Bihar, West Bengal and Manipur.

    “We wish that there should be a good discussion on this in the House, where all political parties will participate. Nobody should run away from the debate. It is my request to the opposition with folded hands, do not run away from the discussion,” the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader said.

    He said the opposition should not politicise such issues and should join the discussion in Parliament.

    “The opposition does all this to remain in discussion, but it does nothing to join the discussion,” Thakur said when asked about the protests on the Manipur issue.

    The Monsoon session of Parliament began on July 20 and has witnessed disruptions over the ethnic violence in Manipur, particularly over a video purportedly shot on May 4 and depicting atrocities against women in the state.

  • Wrestlers meet with Sports Minister Anurag Thakur after invite

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: A crucial meeting between top wrestlers led by Bajrang Punia and Sports Minister Anurag Thakur began at his residence on Wednesday morning as the government continued its effort to strike a deal with the protesting grapplers against outgoing WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.

    The meeting was called upon by Thakur to break the impasse which has been going on for more than a month.

    It is the second round of meeting between the government and protesting wrestlers, who met Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday night.

    VIDEO | Wrestler Bajrang Punia arrives at Union Minister Anurag Thakur’s residence in Delhi. Thakur, earlier today, had invited the wrestlers protesting against WFI President Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh for talks. pic.twitter.com/bpM9ZlehA5
    — Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) June 7, 2023
    The wrestlers have been protesting against Brij Bhushan, demanding his arrest for alleged sexual harassment of seven women grapplers.

    NEW DELHI: A crucial meeting between top wrestlers led by Bajrang Punia and Sports Minister Anurag Thakur began at his residence on Wednesday morning as the government continued its effort to strike a deal with the protesting grapplers against outgoing WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.

    The meeting was called upon by Thakur to break the impasse which has been going on for more than a month.

    It is the second round of meeting between the government and protesting wrestlers, who met Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday night.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    VIDEO | Wrestler Bajrang Punia arrives at Union Minister Anurag Thakur’s residence in Delhi. Thakur, earlier today, had invited the wrestlers protesting against WFI President Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh for talks. pic.twitter.com/bpM9ZlehA5
    — Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) June 7, 2023
    The wrestlers have been protesting against Brij Bhushan, demanding his arrest for alleged sexual harassment of seven women grapplers.

  • Fake news must be fought robustly with trustable news, says Anurag Thakur

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: Terming ‘malicious and weaponised disinformation’ a matter of great concern for governments across the globe, Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting Anurag Thakur on Friday said that ‘fake news’ is a ‘virulent virus’, which should be countered with ‘trustable news’.

    Speaking at the valedictory ceremony for Indian Information Service (IIS) officer trainees at Indian Institution of Mass Communications (IIMC), he said that the alarming rise of malicious disinformation dissemination, which is a global phenomenon, is greatly facilitated by the advent of social media platforms.

    “It is of great concern, not only for us but governments around the world, how malicious disinformation often seeks to intervene and influence the political process…Fake News, the other virulent virus of our times, can be, should be, and must be fought robustly with Trustable News,” said the minister.

    He added that IIS officers are the frontline defenders of the country’s official information system that protects India’s interests and shields its democratic structure. “It would be your job to think out of the box, cut the clutter and relentlessly push the facts. There should be no compromise on this simple necessity for an official information system. Prompt, precise and perfect – that is the threefold target you have to set for yourselves,” said the minister.  Thakur further stated that the primary task of the officers would be to fuel an informed understanding of issues so that public discourse is well-informed.

    Highlighting the menace of this ‘infodemic’ further, Thakur said that while democratisation of public spaces offered by tech platforms has no doubt had a positive impact and allows bottom-up participation in popular debate and discourse. “At the same time malicious, weaponised disinformation, whether internal or external, has worked against the positive gains of this democratisation of public spaces,” said the minister.

    NEW DELHI: Terming ‘malicious and weaponised disinformation’ a matter of great concern for governments across the globe, Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting Anurag Thakur on Friday said that ‘fake news’ is a ‘virulent virus’, which should be countered with ‘trustable news’.

    Speaking at the valedictory ceremony for Indian Information Service (IIS) officer trainees at Indian Institution of Mass Communications (IIMC), he said that the alarming rise of malicious disinformation dissemination, which is a global phenomenon, is greatly facilitated by the advent of social media platforms.

    “It is of great concern, not only for us but governments around the world, how malicious disinformation often seeks to intervene and influence the political process…Fake News, the other virulent virus of our times, can be, should be, and must be fought robustly with Trustable News,” said the minister.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    He added that IIS officers are the frontline defenders of the country’s official information system that protects India’s interests and shields its democratic structure. “It would be your job to think out of the box, cut the clutter and relentlessly push the facts. There should be no compromise on this simple necessity for an official information system. Prompt, precise and perfect – that is the threefold target you have to set for yourselves,” said the minister.  Thakur further stated that the primary task of the officers would be to fuel an informed understanding of issues so that public discourse is well-informed.

    Highlighting the menace of this ‘infodemic’ further, Thakur said that while democratisation of public spaces offered by tech platforms has no doubt had a positive impact and allows bottom-up participation in popular debate and discourse. “At the same time malicious, weaponised disinformation, whether internal or external, has worked against the positive gains of this democratisation of public spaces,” said the minister.

  • Who are the people within Congress wanting to get rid of Rahul, wonders Anurag Thakur

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The BJP on Friday panned Rahul Gandhi as a “habitual offender” who believed the law did not apply to him and asserted that neither the party nor the government had any role in his disqualification from Lok Sabha as the Supreme Court has made it clear that a lawmaker loses his membership from the time of his conviction in a criminal case.

    Addressing a press conference, Union ministers Dharmendra Pradhan and Anurag Thakur also suggested that a conspiracy within the Congress might have played a role in its leaders not approaching a higher court for relief for Gandhi after his conviction on Thursday as it had done so in the case of Pawan Khera within hours of the Assam Police arresting him.

    Who are the people within the Congress wanting to get rid of Rahul Gandhi, Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Thakur asked, noting that the party has a battery of lawyers and wondering if the former party president was deliberately put on the “wrong path”.

    The Congress has so far not appealed against the Surat court order convicting Gandhi in a 2019 defamation case to two years of imprisonment.

    With the Congress slamming the government over his disqualification, alleging that it signifies “strangulation of democracy” with the ruling dispensation finding new techniques of “gagging” him, BJP leaders hit back.

    ALSO READ | Defamation case: Rahul Gandhi disqualified as MP; may be barred from contesting polls for 8 years

    “Congress party, especially the Nehru-Gandhi family, wants a separate Indian Penal Code under which they cannot be convicted. They want a separate judiciary. They suffer from a sense of entitlement and feudal mindset. They fail to understand that in a democracy the law is equal for all,” Pradhan said.

    “Rahul Gandhi is a habitual offender and loose cannon. He thought he could say anything without facing any consequences,” Thakur said, noting that the Congress leader is on bail in seven different cases.

    Gandhi has always considered himself above Parliament, government and the country, the BJP leader said while referring to his alleged recent insulting remarks about the Indian democracy in the UK.

    He had to apologise to the Supreme Court for his defamatory remarks in the Rafale case but did not mend his ways, the information and broadcasting minister said.

    Both leaders also made light of opposition parties rallying around Gandhi on the issue and criticising the government for its “dictatorial” manners.

    Pradhan said one zero joining another zero does not change the outcome.

    They all can stand together but the country stands with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Thakur said, claiming that BJP’s rivals are angry with Modi as coming from a humble background he has brought glory and prestige to India globally.

    Many foreign leaders have also acknowledged his leadership, he added.

    The statement by opposition parties is against India’s democracy and the mandate of the poor and backwards for Modi, Thakur said.

    The Lok Sabha Secretariat disqualified Gandhi as MP from Wayanad in Kerala a day after he was convicted in a 2019 criminal defamation case for his remark “How come all thieves have Modi as the common surname?” Following his disqualification, he would not be able to contest elections for eight years unless a higher court stays his conviction and sentence.

    The Lok Sabha Speaker has only confirmed the legal position by with his speaking order, Thakur said.

    ALSO READ | Your sycophants called the son of a martyred prime Minister a traitor, Mir Jafar: Priyanka slams BJP

    Pradhan, an OBC leader from Odisha, accused Gandhi of “abusing” an entire backward community. “Law is equal for everyone,” he added.

    The BJP leaders noted that several lawmakers, in Lok Sabha and state assemblies, have been disqualified on similar grounds in the past.

    Thakur said Gandhi epitomised “unparliamentary” conduct and also pointed out his poor legislative track record in Lok Sabha to claim that people of Wayanad will be relieved to get rid of him.

    Hitting back at Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge for his claim that Gandhi has been punished for speaking the truth on the Adani-Hindenburg issue, he asked if abusing deprived and backward communities means speaking the truth.

    Thakur also condemned Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for his “most corrupt” jibe at Modi.

    The BJP does need a certificate from someone whose entry in politics was based on “lies”, with many of his ministers charged in cases of corruption.

    Modi has dedicated every moment of his life for developing country, he added.

    राहुल गांधी जी को लगता था कि वो दुर्भाग्य से सांसद हैं।भगवान ने उनकी सुन ली और कोर्ट के माध्यम से उन्हें उनके दुर्भाग्य से मुक्ति दे दी।सदस्यता पर निर्णय कोर्ट का, कांग्रेस का हंगामा रोड पर…आख़िर क्यों? pic.twitter.com/uEZExiwm7a
    — Anurag Thakur (@ianuragthakur) March 24, 2023

    NEW DELHI: The BJP on Friday panned Rahul Gandhi as a “habitual offender” who believed the law did not apply to him and asserted that neither the party nor the government had any role in his disqualification from Lok Sabha as the Supreme Court has made it clear that a lawmaker loses his membership from the time of his conviction in a criminal case.

    Addressing a press conference, Union ministers Dharmendra Pradhan and Anurag Thakur also suggested that a conspiracy within the Congress might have played a role in its leaders not approaching a higher court for relief for Gandhi after his conviction on Thursday as it had done so in the case of Pawan Khera within hours of the Assam Police arresting him.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    Who are the people within the Congress wanting to get rid of Rahul Gandhi, Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Thakur asked, noting that the party has a battery of lawyers and wondering if the former party president was deliberately put on the “wrong path”.

    The Congress has so far not appealed against the Surat court order convicting Gandhi in a 2019 defamation case to two years of imprisonment.

    With the Congress slamming the government over his disqualification, alleging that it signifies “strangulation of democracy” with the ruling dispensation finding new techniques of “gagging” him, BJP leaders hit back.

    ALSO READ | Defamation case: Rahul Gandhi disqualified as MP; may be barred from contesting polls for 8 years

    “Congress party, especially the Nehru-Gandhi family, wants a separate Indian Penal Code under which they cannot be convicted. They want a separate judiciary. They suffer from a sense of entitlement and feudal mindset. They fail to understand that in a democracy the law is equal for all,” Pradhan said.

    “Rahul Gandhi is a habitual offender and loose cannon. He thought he could say anything without facing any consequences,” Thakur said, noting that the Congress leader is on bail in seven different cases.

    Gandhi has always considered himself above Parliament, government and the country, the BJP leader said while referring to his alleged recent insulting remarks about the Indian democracy in the UK.

    He had to apologise to the Supreme Court for his defamatory remarks in the Rafale case but did not mend his ways, the information and broadcasting minister said.

    Both leaders also made light of opposition parties rallying around Gandhi on the issue and criticising the government for its “dictatorial” manners.

    Pradhan said one zero joining another zero does not change the outcome.

    They all can stand together but the country stands with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Thakur said, claiming that BJP’s rivals are angry with Modi as coming from a humble background he has brought glory and prestige to India globally.

    Many foreign leaders have also acknowledged his leadership, he added.

    The statement by opposition parties is against India’s democracy and the mandate of the poor and backwards for Modi, Thakur said.

    The Lok Sabha Secretariat disqualified Gandhi as MP from Wayanad in Kerala a day after he was convicted in a 2019 criminal defamation case for his remark “How come all thieves have Modi as the common surname?” Following his disqualification, he would not be able to contest elections for eight years unless a higher court stays his conviction and sentence.

    The Lok Sabha Speaker has only confirmed the legal position by with his speaking order, Thakur said.

    ALSO READ | Your sycophants called the son of a martyred prime Minister a traitor, Mir Jafar: Priyanka slams BJP

    Pradhan, an OBC leader from Odisha, accused Gandhi of “abusing” an entire backward community. “Law is equal for everyone,” he added.

    The BJP leaders noted that several lawmakers, in Lok Sabha and state assemblies, have been disqualified on similar grounds in the past.

    Thakur said Gandhi epitomised “unparliamentary” conduct and also pointed out his poor legislative track record in Lok Sabha to claim that people of Wayanad will be relieved to get rid of him.

    Hitting back at Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge for his claim that Gandhi has been punished for speaking the truth on the Adani-Hindenburg issue, he asked if abusing deprived and backward communities means speaking the truth.

    Thakur also condemned Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for his “most corrupt” jibe at Modi.

    The BJP does need a certificate from someone whose entry in politics was based on “lies”, with many of his ministers charged in cases of corruption.

    Modi has dedicated every moment of his life for developing country, he added.

    राहुल गांधी जी को लगता था कि वो दुर्भाग्य से सांसद हैं।
    भगवान ने उनकी सुन ली और कोर्ट के माध्यम से उन्हें उनके दुर्भाग्य से मुक्ति दे दी।
    सदस्यता पर निर्णय कोर्ट का, कांग्रेस का हंगामा रोड पर…
    आख़िर क्यों? pic.twitter.com/uEZExiwm7a
    — Anurag Thakur (@ianuragthakur) March 24, 2023