The Congress and other opposition parties in Andaman and Nicobar Islands have decided to stage demonstrations jointly at three places in the archipelago this month to protest against the disqualification of Rahul Gandhi from the Lok Sabha.
Addressing a press conference at Gandhi Bhawan in Port Blair on Sunday, Pradesh Congress Committee president Ranglal Halder said the joint protests under the banner of ‘Sankalp Satyagraha’ will be held on April 16 at Diglipur in North Andaman, on April 19 at Bamboo Flat in South Andaman and on April 28 at Tiranga Park here.
"In the last few weeks, we have seen how the BJP at the Centre tried its best to corner Rahul Gandhi who raised his voice against the central government and the Adani group in Parliament. Yesterday, we had a meeting with all like-minded parties and it was decided that we will intensify our joint protests," the Congress leader said.
Several political parties such as the CPI(M), DMK, BSP, SP, RJD, and the ANJP participated in the meeting.
Halder also said party workers from blocks and districts of the union territory will gather at the three places from 10 am to 5 pm on the protest days to extend their support for Rahul Gandhi in his fight against "killers" of democracy.
Gandhi, representing Wayanad parliamentary constituency in Kerala, was on March 24 disqualified from the Lok Sabha on, a day after his conviction in a defamation case by a court in Surat in Gujarat.
Andaman and Nicobar Territorial Congress' campaign committee chairman TSG Bhasker, who was also present at the press conference, said, “We all know, the trial court has given Rahul Gandhi ji 30 days for judicial remedy. Despite this, he was asked to vacate his official residence."
Last week, Gandhi was served a notice to vacate the government bungalow, allotted to him, by April 22 following his disqualification as a member of Lok Sabha after his conviction in the criminal defamation case.
Bhasker also alleged that "Rahul ji wanted investigation against Adani group and therefore BJP plotted this conspiracy against him".
The opposition parties have been demanding a joint parliamentary committee probe or a Supreme Court-monitored investigation into the allegations of fraud and manipulation made by Hindenburg Research against Adani’s companies that triggered an unprecedented stock crash.
The group has denied the charges.