The Punjab and Haryana units of Congress began a day-long 'Sankalp Satyagraha' here on Sunday to protest against Rahul Gandhi's disqualification from Lok Sabha.
Both units are holding separate events at the state headquarters as part of the protest programme in which many senior leaders are taking part.
Speaking to reporters, Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring alleged that the action against Rahul Gandhi was taken because the BJP-led Centre was "scared" of his next speech in Parliament on the Adani issue.
Warring said a "tearing hurry" was shown by the Lok Sabha Secretariat in disqualifying Rahul Gandhi allegedly at the behest of the BJP-led government.
Haryana Congress chief Udai Bhan said Rahul Gandhi has been raising his voice against the BJP-led Centre on various issues.
"They want to silence his voice, but they are mistaken," said the Haryana Congress chief.
Speaking to reporters, Punjab's Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa said it is time for "all democratic forces to get together".
Bajwa said institutions are being attacked in the country and opposition is being targeted.
"Whosoever raises questions in public interest, either answers are not given or their voice is suppressed," he said targeting the BJP-led Centre.
He said if the government thinks they can silence Congress' and Rahul's voice, who had raised the Adani issue, they are mistaken.
Bajwa said it was time for the opposition to join hands. Today, it is Rahul Gandhi who has been disqualified, going by current indications, tomorrow it can be top leaders of other opposition parties too who can face the same fate, the senior Congress leader said.
On Rahul Gandhi's disqualification, he said, "he will continue to raise his voice on issues which are in public interest and concern millions of people of the country. They (govt) cannot silence him for speaking the truth".
Rahul Gandhi was disqualified from the Lok Sabha on Friday, a day after a court in Gujarat's Surat convicted him in a 2019 defamation case. The disqualification will bar Gandhi (52), a four-time MP, from contesting polls for eight years unless a higher court stays his conviction.
The Congress has said Rahul Gandhi is not alone and millions of Congressmen and people irrespective of their political affiliations will join him in this fight for truth and justice.
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