Jail me for life; will not apologise for defending democracy: Rahul

New Delhi: An aggressive Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said that even if he is disqualified from Parliament for life or jailed, he will keep defending the democratic nature of the country and claimed that a "panic-stricken" government has handed the Opposition a "weapon" with the move to disqualify him. The Gandhi scion launched a scathing attack on the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, demanding to know who invested Rs 20,000 crores in the Adani shell companies.

Addressing a press conference, Mr Gandhi said: "I have been disqualified because the Prime Minister is scared of my next speech. I have seen it in his eyes. So he is terrified of the next speech that is going to come and does not want that speech to be in Parliament." Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot, Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel and party general secretaries Jairam Ramesh and K.C. Venugopal flanked Mr Gandhi at the conference, where he claimed that his attack on Adani was the reason for distraction through allegations and now disqualification.

He cited Veer Savarkar to explain why he didn't apologise. When asked about the BJP's charge that his 2019 remarks that were the centre of the defamation case were an insult to OBCs, Mr Gandhi said he has always talked about brotherhood and the issue was not about OBCs but about Adani shell companies and his ties to the government.

Mr Gandhi claimed that democracy in the country is finished because he was not allowed to respond to allegations made by the ruling party against him in Parliament. He said: "I wrote to the Speaker twice, then went to him personally and said you are the protector of democracy; allow me to speak. He smiles and says, I can't do it. If you cannot do it, who can do it? I may have to go to Modi ji then, but he will not allow me to speak."

He further added: "So, my point is that democracy is finished in this country. People cannot speak what is on their minds, institutions in this country are being attacked and the mechanism of that attack is the relationship between Mr Modi and Adani."

Rebutting the charge by the BJP about insulting OBCs, Mr Gandhi said, "This is not an issue of OBCs; this is an issue of the relationship between Mr Modi and (industrialist Gautam) Adani. I am asking how Adani shell firms got Rs 20,000 crores and want an answer to that," he said.

"The BJP tries to divert attention. They will sometimes talk of OBCs, sometimes of (remarks) abroad, sometimes about disqualification or something else, but the question remains -- Rs 20,000 crores belong to whom?"

At the press conference, an agitated Mr Gandhi also accused journalists of peddling the BJP's agenda and asked if they asked questions after the orders from the ruling dispensation.

While the Congress legal team will pursue the matter by exploring legal options, the party, in the meantime, is all set to hit the streets. Mr Gandhi himself will also take to the streets, demanding answers from the government. He added that many in the BJP believe that questioning Mr Adani is questioning India.

Mr Gandhi was disqualified from the Lok Sabha on Friday after a court in Gujarat's Surat convicted him in a 2019 defamation case.

Rebutting the charges made by Mr Gandhi, senior BJP leader and former Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, "We are not here to hold a brief for Mr Adani. But Mr Gandhi has sought to mislead the people by linking his disqualification with Mr Adani. He has been disqualified because of his conviction in a case that relates to defamatory remarks he made in 2019."