Congress leader and now-disqualified MP Rahul Gandhi on Saturday lost his cool at a journalist during his first press conference post-disqualification.
After a one-sided briefing, where he’d attacked the govt claiming he was being silenced over the Adani issue and fielded softball questions, he was finally asked about the defamation conviction that resulted in his expulsion.
When he was asked about his reaction to BJP’s allegation that the Congress leader insulted the OBC community, Rahul Gandhi accused the journalist of ‘working for the BJP’ and proceeded to humiliate him.
“Why are you directly working for the BJP? Do you have got any orders? If you want to work for the BJP, then put a BJP symbol on your chest. Don’t pretend to be a pressman,” agitated Rahul told the journalist when the latter asked about his reaction to BJP’s allegations.
At that point, someone next to Rahul Gandhi chortled. The former Wayanad MP then proceeded to smirk at the journalist who had questioned him and asked him ‘Hawa Nikaal Di?’ (‘Have I punctured you?’)
Then, on the very next and final question in the briefing, when asked about what he thinks of BJP demanding an apology from him over his UK speech and in the court over his ‘Modi surname’ defamation conviction, Rahul Gandhi said, “Rahul Gandhi thinks his name is not Savarkar. My name is Gandhi and Gandhi never apologises.”
The Gandhi scion then returned to his attack on purportedly not being allowed to speak in Parliament. He said that he wrote letters to the Lok Sabha Speaker. “I even wrote a letter twice and later went to Speaker personally and said ‘you are a protector of democracy, let me speak’. He smiled and said ‘No I can’t do that’. If he cannot then who? Maybe I should ask Modi ji,” Rahul said.
The Congress leader said that a “panic reaction” of disqualification from the government will benefit the Opposition. He also said, “The Prime Minister is scared of my next speech on Adani, and I have seen it in his eyes. That is why, first the distraction and then the disqualification… Even if they disqualify me permanently, I will keep doing my work. it does not matter if I am inside the Parliament or not. I will keep fighting for the country.”