Rahul's Disqualification From LS Doesn't Bode Well For Democracy, Says SAD Chief

The disqualification of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi from the Lok Sabha "does not bode well for democracy", Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal said on Sunday while claiming that the speaker of the House "acted in a haste" over the matter. Even though the SAD was opposed to the policies of the Congress party as well as that of Rahul Gandhi, it felt that due time should have been given to him to appeal his disqualification, he said. Gandhi was on Thursday sentenced to two years in jail by a Surat court in a 2019 criminal defamation case over his "why all thieves have Modi surname" remark. A day later, he was disqualified from the Lok Sabha from the date of his conviction in the case.

Badal claimed that the Lok Sabha speaker "acted in a haste" in disqualifying Rahul Gandhi and "this does not bode well for democracy". "The system should be allowed to do its job and disrupting it points to a dictatorial trend," he added.  Raising the pitch against the BJP over Rahul Gandhi's disqualification from Lok Sabha, Congress leaders, and workers held protests across the country on Sunday, with party president Mallikarjun Kharge and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra accusing the government of "trying to silence" a "martyr's son" for raising the voice of people. The BJP, however, slammed the Congress and asked if it was agitating against the country's Constitution or the law under which Rahul Gandhi was convicted or to justify his remarks against the entire backward community of the country.

About the damage to corps in Punjab due to rain and hailstorm, SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal sought Rs 50,000 per acre as compensation for the farmers of the state who were affected by inclement weather."Punjab has witnessed major damage to the wheat crop due to hailstorms and heavy rains. The government should release a compensation of Rs 50,000 per acre to all farmers whose wheat crop has been severely damaged due to the inclement weather," he said.