On Rahul Gandhi, Congress ‘thanks’ Germany, BJP hits back for ‘celebration’

The Congress thanked Germany Germany for "taking note" of Rahul Gandhi's disqualification from Parliament as the Lok Sabha MP, while the BJP slammed the opposition party for allegedly “celebrating” the reactions from Germany and the US remarks over the issue.

The Congress on Thursday thanked Germany for "taking note" of Rahul Gandhi's disqualification from Parliament as the Lok Sabha MP, while the Bharatiya Janata Party slammed the opposition party for allegedly “celebrating” the reactions from Germany and the US remarks over the issue.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.(PTI file)

Germany said on Wednesday the “standards of judicial independence and fundamental democratic principles” should apply in the case of opposition Congress leader Rahul Gandhi following his disqualification as a Lok Sabha MP after his conviction in a defamation case.

A spokesperson for the German foreign ministry said the government had “taken note of the verdict of first instance” against Rahul Gandhi and the “suspension of his parliamentary mandate”. This was the first response by Germany or any other European country on the case of Gandhi. The comments by the German foreign ministry’s spokesperson came close on the heels of US state department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel saying that the US is tracking Gandhi’s case in Indian courts.

Watch: Germany lectures India on Rahul Gandhi's case; 'Standards of judicial independence...' | Watch

Taking to Twitter, Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Digvijaya Singh said, "Thank you German Foreign Affairs Ministry and Richard Walker for taking note of how the Democracy is being compromised in India through the persecution of Rahul Gandhi."

Actor-turned-Congress leader Nagma said the party is thankful to the German foreign ministry for taking note of the development.

“We r thankful to Germany’s foreign Ministry who took note of #DemocracyDisqualified is new normal in India 🇮🇳 since ModiRegime. People r unable to hv decent conversations anymore thr r bitter arguments these days as 1 spks on politics policies thr isnt any civil dialogue anymore,” she tweeted.

The BJP, however, came down heavily on the Congress and Rahul Gandhi for allegedly “inviting foreign powers for interference into India’s internal matters”.

“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:- Shri @narendramodi Ji,” Union minister Kiren Rijiju tweeted.

BJP national spokesperson Jaiveer Shergill alleged that the Congress celebrating Germany and US remarks on Rahul Gandhi’s case shows their political desperation.

“Rejected by Indian voters now looking for acceptance by foreign powers is sad reality of Congress! Judiciary must take note of daily maligning of courts by Congress brigade!” Shergill tweeted.

Gandhi, the MP from Wayanad constituency in Kerala, was disqualified after being convicted in a case filed over his remarks about people with the surname Modi. He had made the comments during an election campaign rally in Karnataka in 2019. Gandhi is currently free on bail.