Rahul Gandhi's disqualification: Priyanka, Kharge at Rajghat as police denies permission for sit-in

In protest against Rahul Gandhi's disqualification as Lok Sabha MP, the Congress party will observe a day-long 'Satyagraha' on Sunday across the nation.

The Satyagraha will be held in front of Mahatma Gandhi's statutes at all states and district headquaters from 10 am to 5 pm. Congress party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi and party president Mallikarjun Kharge will stage the satyagraha at Raj Ghat in Delhi.

The Congress alleged that Rahul's conviction and disqualification was done in reaction to his consistent questioning of the relationship between PM Modi and Adani.

In his first response after the disqualification, Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said that he was disqualified because Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scared of his next speech on Adani. He also added that he was not afraid of speaking the truth and would continue to raise questions.

While addressing a press conference in Delhi, he said that "My name is not Savarkar, my name is Gandhi...I do not apologise."

Row over Savarkar remarks

Maharastra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said that Rahul Gandhi is "deliberately insulting" V.D. Savarkar which was "unfortunate. He also alleged that the Uddhav Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena is supporting the Congress leader.

"Rahul Gandhi has been convicted and stands automatically disqualified as a member of Lok Sabha. But he continues to insult V D Savarkar by saying that he is not Savarkar to apologise. Who does he think he is? He must be punished," said Shinde.

"I publicly condemn Rahul Gandhi for deliberately insulting Savarkar and PM Modi. People will not let Rahul Gandhi move on the streets," he said.

"When Rahul Gandhi said 'chowkidar chor hai' in the last elections, people defeated him. He insulted the country by targeting PM Modi and Indian democracy in the country and abroad. During his 'Bharat Jodo Yatra', he was speaking of 'Bharat todo' (break the country)," Shinde said.

Nationwide protests

Protests were held nationwide including Wayanad, Maharastra, Delhi, and Bengal against the disqualification. Congress had said that millions of people irrespective of their political affiliation will him in the fight for truth and justice.

Congress staged protests in different parts of Raj cities including Jaipur, Ajmer and Kota.

In Ajmer, Congress workers led by Vijay Jain burnt the effigy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. While in Jaipur, youth workers blocked Jaipur-Ajmer Highway near a 200-foot bypass while protesting against the Central government.

The protests also caused traffic jams in different parts of the highway.

(With PTI inputs)