Hyderabad: ‘Calling a thief a thief is not defamation’ says Congress

Hyderabad: Congress party on Monday protested at Moosarambagh crossroads as part of the nationwide Sankalp Satyagraha in support of Rahul Gandhi and claimed that it is not defamation if a thief is rightly called a thief.

The Congress submitted a petition to the statute condemning Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification as a member of parliament and calling it a ‘murder of democracy’.

Sameer Waliullah, Hyderabad District Congress Committee (DCC) president, on Monday, said, “Calling a thief a thief is not defamation. Rahul Gandhi said Nirav Modi and Lalit Modi plundered the country and Adani was still looting the country’s resources with the blessings of Prime Minister Modi, I challenge the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders to prove these statements wrong.”

During the protest, Sameer Waliullah said that Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification from the Lok Sabha was unfair and accused the BJP government of using defamation to target opposition leaders and suppress dissent.

He said that the case’s revival has to do with Rahul Gandhi’s questioning of the Adani group in Parliament. “Rahul Gandhi did not claim all ‘Modis are thieves,’ but only questioned why some thieves, like Nirav and Lalit, have the Modi surname,” he added.

“Rahul Gandhi never defamed anyone. However, BJP leaders run a factory of lies where they keep generating fake news,” he said.

Sameer Waliullah praised Rahul Gandhi as an inspiration who consistently works to unite India. He said that the recent Bharat Jodo Yatra, a campaign for national integration, is an example of Gandhi’s commitment to bring Indians together.

Anjan Kumar Yadav stated that the Congress party would continue protesting until Rahul Gandhi is reinstated and demanded a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the Adani scam. He emphasized the party’s unwavering support for Rahul Gandhi, saying, “We will follow him come what may.”