THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Several Congress leaders and party workers observed 'maun satyagraha' (silent protest) in the state capital on Wednesday to express solidarity with Rahul Gandhi, who, according to them, was "erroneously" convicted in a defamation case and disqualified from Lok Sabha.
An array of senior leaders including MLAs, MPs and former ministers gathered in front of the statue of Mahatma Gandhi at Gandhi Park, located in the heart of the capital city, to take part in the protest that would continue till the evening.
Kerala PCC chief K Sudhakaran, Leader of Opposition in the Assembly V D Satheesan, MPs including Kodikunnil Suresh, Rajmohan Unnithan and K Muraleedharan and presidents of various District Congress Committees and so on were among those who took part in the silent protest.
Before the beginning of the 'maun satyagraha', Suresh, who is also the working president of the KPCC, alleged that the Centre under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the ruling BJP were trying to keep Gandhi away from Parliament.
"The Modi government is trying to insult Rahul Gandhi and keep him away from the Parliament. But the Congress workers in the country will unitedly rally behind him to check all such moves," he said.
A large number of party workers also arrived from various districts to take part in the protest. Gandhi represented Kerala's Wayanad constituency in the Lok Sabha before his disqualification as MP.
Congress general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal recently wrote to all state unit chiefs of the party and key functionaries about the protest after the Gujarat High Court dismissed Gandhi's plea seeking a stay on his conviction in a criminal defamation case over his "Modi surname" remark.
"The entire world has seen how Rahul Gandhi has consistently been questioning and exposing the relationship between Modi and Adani on various platforms. His courageous pursuit has forced the Prime Minister and the BJP to resort to crooked measures leading to his conviction and disqualification from the membership of Lok Sabha," Venugopal had said in his communication.