German Foreign Ministry reacts to Rahul Gandhi's disqualification

Berlin: In a first, the German Foreign Ministry has reacted to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's disqualification from Parliament, saying the latter is in a position to appeal and only then it will "become clear whether this verdict will stand and whether the suspension of his mandate has any basis".

The remarks were made by a Ministry spokesperson at a press briefing on Wednesday.

"We have taken note of the verdict of first instance against the Indian opposition politician Rahul Gandhi as well as the suspension of his parliamentary mandate.

"To our knowledge, Gandhi is in a position to appeal the verdict. It will then become clear whether this verdict will stand and whether the suspension of his mandate has any basis.

"We expect that the standards of the judicial independence and fundamental democratic principles will equally apply to the proceedings against Rahul Gandhi," the spokesperson added.

Quickly responding to the remarks, Congress leader Digvijaya Singh in a tweet thanked the German Foreign Affairs Ministry "for taking note of how the democracy is being compromised in India through persecution of Rahul Gandhi".

But in a counter-attack, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju slammed the remarks saying that "Indian judiciary can't be influenced by foreign interference".

Also taking to Twitter, he said: "Thank you Rahul Gandhi for inviting foreign powers for interference into India's internal matters. Remember, Indian judiciary can't be influenced by foreign interference. India won't tolerate 'foreign influence' anymore because our Prime Minister is Narendra Modi."

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The German Foreign Ministry's reaction comes few days after a US Department of State spokesperson had said that Washington is watching Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's case.

During a press briefing on Monday when asked if the Congress leader's disqualification was consistent with democratic values, the Department's Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel said: "Respect for the rule of law and judicial independence is a cornerstone of any democracy, and we're watching Mr. Gandhi's case in Indian courts, and we engage with the government of India on our shared commitment to democratic values -- including, of course, freedom of expression.

"In our engagements with our Indian partners, we continue to highlight the importance of democratic principles and the protection of human rights, including freedom of expression, as a key to strengthening both our democracies."

On March 24, Rahul Gandhi was disqualified as member of the Lok Sabha, a day after his conviction in the 2019 'Modi surname' defamation case.

The Gandhi scion, who represented the Wayanad parliamentary constituency of Kerala, was disqualified under provisions of Article 102 (1) (e) of the Constitution of India read with Section 8 of Representation of the People's Act.

He was on March 23 sentenced to two years in jail by a Surat court in the case filed on a complaint by BJP MLA Purnesh Modi.

Patna court summons Rahul Gandhi on April 12

Patna: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has been summoned by Patna MP-MLA court on April 12 to record his statement on a petition filed by BJP senior leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sushil Kumar Modi over his "Modi surname" remark.

Sushil Modi has levelled criminal defamation charges against Gandhi for making statements against people with Modi surname.

The court has directed Rahul Gandhi's lawyer to appear before it.

Rahul Gandhi, during the 2019 Lok Sabha election campaign in Karnataka, said that all people having Modi surname are thieves. He had also said that Nirav Modi and Lalit Modi had taken away thousands of crores of rupees and fled the country.

Apart from Sushil Kumar Modi, former road construction minister Nitin Navin, Bankipur MLA, BJP leader Sanjiv Chaurasia and Manish Kumar, BJYM leader have already recorded their statements as witnesses in the court.

After the conviction by the Surat court, the Congress has taken a tough stand over the conviction. As per sources, Rahul Gandhi may appear in Patna MP-MLA court as well.

On March 23, a Surat court convicted the Congress leader for speaking ill of Modi surname and sentenced him to two years imprisonment. This led to his disqualification from Parliament as member from Kerala's Wayanad constituency.

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