PATNA: A day after the Supreme Court stayed the conviction of senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in 'Modi surname case', Bihar's deputy chief minister Tejashwi Prasad Yadav on Saturday said that not just Rahul Gandhi but all Opposition leaders are being harassed by the Modi government.
“Those who fight will win and those who are scared will be defeated,” he told the media soon after landing at Patna airport from New Delhi along with his father and RJD chief Lalu Prasad.
Lalu and Tejashwi went to New Delhi to depose before a special Enforcement Directorate (ED) court in connection with an alleged land-for-job scam case.
The court will hear the case again on August 22. Lalu and his family members have been charge-sheeted in the case.
Hailing the SC's stay on the conviction of Rahul, the deputy chief minister said that Friday was a historic day as justice was done with the Congress leader. Earlier, RJD chief Lalu Prasad welcomed the decision of the apex court. “We are unitedly fighting against Fascist forces,” Tejashwi tweeted after the order of the Supreme Court.
On Friday, Rahul called on Lalu and Tejashwi at the residence of Rajya Sabha member Misa Bharti in New Delhi and held a discussion with the two leaders on strengthening the Opposition unity ahead of the Lok Sabha election.
Rahul got a reprieve from Supreme Court on Friday after the latter stayed his conviction in the 2019 case.
A three-bench judge observed that the utterances of Rahul Gandhi were not in good taste and that a person in public life is expected to exercise caution while making public speeches. The apex court said that the ramifications of the trial court were wide. It observed that the trial court didn't mention the reason for imposing a maximum penalty on the accused.
“No reason has been given by the trial court judge for imposing maximum sentence, order of conviction needs to stay pending final adjudication,” it said. Rahul's membership in Lok Sabha was suspended by Speaker Om Birla following the order of the trial court.
“After the SC's stay on conviction, Rahul may contest the 2024 Lok Sabha election,” a senior advocate of Patna High Court Rajiv Ranjan Pandey said.