Kathua | Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) chairman Ghulam Nabi Azad on Sunday termed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's disqualification from the Lok Sabha a "wrong thing" and does not bode well for democracy.
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. He was later disqualified from the Lok Sabha from the date of his conviction in the case. "I am against this, whether he is Rahul Gandhi or Lalu Prasad Yadav or any other MP or MLA. It is against natural justice that on one side a judge delivered a judgement and on the other the MP or MLA is disqualified," Azad told reporters on the sidelines of a function in Kathua district.
It is a wrong thing, he said.
"Earlier, the rule was that he or she won't be disqualified till the last court does not award him punishment. There are 20 steps before reaching the last court. This does not go well with the democracy," the former Congress leader said.
"Earlier Lalu Prasad Yadav was disqualified and now Rahul Gandhi. This way, the entire parliament and assemblies will become vacant," he said, adding, "There should be a separate yardstick for political leaders." 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.
Azad said his party will pass laws in the assembly to bar outsiders from purchasing land in Jammu and Kashmir if it is voted to power.
He said the people of J and K only have the right over the Union Territory's resources.
Azad, while addressing a public meeting in Barnoti in Kathua district, said the J and K administration thought making tall claims of creating abundant job opportunities for the youth has failed miserably as it is snatching the land from locals.
“The land is meant for people and when it is taken away from them then what is the use of it. No government has the right to snatch the livelihood of people, rather it is duty-bound to offer more economic opportunities to them,” he said.
While the present regime did some good things that benefited the people, that all was washed away after it took anti-people decisions like evicting people from their land, imposing property tax and giving contracts to outsiders, Azad said.
"If our party comes to power, we will ensure that jobs and land are protected for the local people. We will pass the laws in the state assembly to bar outsiders from purchasing land here and securing jobs if elected to power," he said.
Azad also criticised the administration for allotting land to 1965 Pakistan Occupied Kashmir refugees but not granting them ownership rights.
He said the administration should provide compensation to farmers whose crops were damaged due to excessive rain.
He said to empower the people of Jammu and Kashmir politically and economically, the restoration of statehood is important.