Shashi Tharoor, a senior Congress leader, has dismissed the BJP’s allegations that the opposition party put ‘undue pressure’ on the judiciary when its leaders accompanied Rahul Gandhi to a Surat court to file an appeal against his conviction in a criminal defamation case. Tharoor called it an ‘absurd allegation’ and pointed out that the attendance of individuals at the court is not a source of pressure. He said that ultimately, the soundness of the arguments of lawyers inside the courtroom is what prevails. ‘Who comes to the court is not going to decide a case; it is what is argued in the court that is going to decide,’ he added.
Gandhi filed his appeal in the Surat sessions court against his conviction in the 2019 case and was granted bail. The case was filed against Gandhi by BJP MLA and former Gujarat minister Purnesh Modi for his alleged remarks on ‘Modi surname.’ Tharoor said that Gandhi, as the principal political leader of a major opposition party, has the right to put up a show of strength but emphasized that ultimately it is the arguments of lawyers inside the courtroom that matter.
‘If at all there is a source of pressure on the judiciary, I think we can all guess where that is likely to come from,’ Tharoor added. The two-year jail term invited Gandhi’s disqualification from Parliament under provisions of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.
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