‘Getting an ass to run horse’s race’: BJP minister Hardeep Puri takes a jibe at Rahul Gandhi

Union minister and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Hardeep Singh Puri on Monday mocked the Congress party’s protests against Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification as a Member of Parliament and advised the grand old party some serious introspection on the lines of propriety, political discourse and the legal system.

Puri, who holds the twin portfolios of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Urban Housing and Poverty Alleviation in the Narendra Modi government, also scoffed at Rahul Gandhi for his remarks on Savarkar while refusing to apologise for his statements.

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“You know the contribution of people like Savarkarji? As I said, you are getting an ass to run a horse’s race,” Puri can be heard saying in a video tweeted by news agency ANI.

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The minister also took exception to the Congress launching protests over the disqualification of Rahul Gandhi from Lok Sabha following his conviction in a defamation case. “He (Rahul Gandhi) has been convicted by a court. There are automatic procedures. To bring in this kind of melodramatics… The people of India will judge them for what they are,”he said.

The Congress today launched nationwide protests against Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification with party leaders in several states sporting black attire and taking out protest marches against the “haste” shown by the government in processing the disqualification following Gandhi’s conviction.

On Thursday, a Surat court found Rahul Gandhi guilty of defamation and sentenced him to two years in prison. The Lok Sabha secretariat notified Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification the next day.

“The manner in which Rahul Gandhi’s membership is taken away is completely undemocratic. He has the right to appeal in court. The court even gave him 30 days to appeal. Then what was the hurry to take his membership?.. It’s a black day in the history of our country. What happened was unjust. We will protest against this,” Congress MP Manish Tewari said today.

The BJP, on the other hand, has argued that the suspension was in accordance with the Supreme Court’s 2013 ruling in the ‘Lily Thomas vs Union of India’ case which struck down the liberties granted to lawmakers to evade disqualification despite being convicted of a crime.

Meanwhile, Opposition parties have rallied behind Rahul Gandhi on the issue and have also ditched their differences to join forces and exert pressure on the government to constitute a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the allegations against Adani. Many Congress leaders across the country were seen sporting black attire in solidarity with Rahul, while a protest march was held in Delhi under the grand old party’s leadership to press for a JPC on the Adani matter.

Also Read: Rahul Gandhi to vacate official bungalow: Here are other perks he stands to lose after being disqualified as MP

“Our message is- Save democracy and Constitution. If you take law into your own hands, democracy will be ruined and nobody would have freedom of speech. Adani has become a tall figure. Why is the government silent? He earned money illegally. We want JPC,” Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said.

“Why are we here in black clothes? We want to show that PM Modi is ending democracy in the country. He first finished autonomous bodies, then they put up their own govt everywhere by threatening those who had won polls. Then they used ED, CBI to use bend those who didn’t bow,” he added.