'If tomorrow I am convicted, will BJP...': Himanta Biswa Sarma on Rahul Gandhi
Reacting to the protest of the Congress leaders in the Assam Assembly, Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the protest is against the judiciary as the decision is not of the Narendra Modi government.
Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday reacted to the Congress' protest in the Assam State Assembly over Rahul Gandhi's disqualification and said what the Congress is doing is protesting against the judiciary. "Tomorrow, if the court convicts me in something, will BJP MLAs wear black clothes and protest? No, we will go to the high court, the Supreme Court, sessions court, but we will never defy the judiciary. This trend is not good for Indian democracy," Himanta said. Read | Rahul Gandhi's challenge to Surat court order ready amid BJP's ‘deliberate delay’ charge

"Do you want to criticise Justice Pattnaik, Justice Mukhopadhyay and Justice HS Verma of Surat court? They may be wrong but there is a judicial process laid down. You go to session court, high court and Supreme Court," Himanta Biswa said. Read | ‘If Rahul disqualified, then why not Modi?’: TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee's dig
"Court judgments may be in favour of a person or may even go against him. But will you launch protests just because a particular judgment went against you? Will you seek an adjournment motion in Parliament?" the Assam CM asked as the Assam Assembly witnessed disruption on the issue of Rahul Gandhi's disqualification from the Lok Sabha, following his conviction in the 2019 defamation case.
"Judiciarty is a double-edged sword sometimes we will get a judgement against and sometimes in favour. But will we protest against the judiciary and that too a judicial verdict which is not in the jurisdiction of the court of Assam," Himanta Biswa said.
"Kapil Sibal brought a bill in the Rajya Sabha on August 30, 2013 that a member will not be disqualified from Parliament but he or she will not draw a salary. Then in September, the UPA govt got an ordinance. Manmohan Singh was the prime minister and he was on a tour to the US. had that Ordinance been passed, Rahul Gandhi would have remained a Lok Sabha member. But what he did? He called a press conference and tore the ordinance before the media. At the same time, Ajay Maken was giving a statement supporting the Ordinance. When he was told about Rahul Gandhi's view, Maken said Rahul Gandhi's view is the official view of the Congress party," Himanta Biswa said.
ABOUT THE AUTHORPoulomi GhoshPoulomi Ghosh is a journalist with Hindustan Times, New Delhi.

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