Bhubaneswar: The president of Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC), Sarat Patnaik on Friday said his party would stage state-wide agitation on Saturday in protest against disqualification of Rahul Gandhi from Lok Sabha.
In a video message, Patnaik said the BJP government at the Centre disqualified Rahul Gandhi with a deliberate plan to harass him. “The BJP has been shaken by the support Rahul is getting in his efforts to unite India. Our leader has taken up the task upon himself to protect democracy and the Constitution. Rattled by his rising popularity, the BJP has deliberately disqualified him,” he said.
Issuing a warning to the BJP that it would never succeed in its plan to throttle democracy and its glorious practices in the country, the OPCC president said harassment of Rahul Gandhi is a direct attack on the Congress. “Our party will not remain silent and wage a relentless fight against the injustice meted out to our leader,” he said.
Stating that the Congress has always respected the judiciary, Patnaik said the court has allowed Rahul Gandhi to file an appeal challenging its order, but the Centre has taken this step out of intolerance. “We strongly stand behind Rahul Gandhi. We will follow whatever order is issued by the AICC. Our party has launched agitation in all districts of Odisha on Friday and we will intensify our protest from villages to the state capital from tomorrow,” he added.
Meanwhile, Congress workers led by MLA Suresh Routray burnt an effigy of prime minister Narendra Modi at Master Canteen square in Bhubaneswar on Friday evening. They raised slogans against the prime minister and BJP during the protest.
