The Jharkhand unit of Congress party staged a day-long 'Sankalp Satyagraha' here on Sunday to protest against Rahul Gandhi's disqualification from Lok Sabha.

Senior Congress leaders including Jharkhand ministers—Rameshwar Oraon and Banna Gupta— assembled at Bapu Vatika at Morabadi ground in Ranchi to lodge their protest, saying BJP-led Centre is scared of Gandhi’s "vociferous voice" on Adani issue.

Talking to media persons, Jharkhand Congress president Rajesh Thakur said, "The haste shown by the Lok Sabha secretariat in disqualifying Rahul ji, shows that BJP government in Centre is scared of his vociferous voice on Adani issue." Rahul Gandhi was on Friday disqualified from Lok Sabha following his conviction by a Surat court in a 2019 criminal defamation case. The disqualification will bar 52-year-old Gandhi from contesting polls for eight years unless a higher court stays his conviction and sentence.

Thakur said, "Through the disqualification, Centre has made its effort to silence the voice of Rahul ji. But, they are mistaken. His voice cannot be silenced. We will be agitating from block to district level across the state for truth and justice." Congress national secretary Deepika Pandey Singh said, "It’s also a fight for common man, whose hard-earned money is being put at risk to benefit a particular corporate House by Centre." Reacting on BJP’s Sankalp Satyagrah, BJP Jharkhand president Deepak Prakash told PTI, "It’s nothing but a drama staged by Congress. The Congress leaders are shedding crocodile tears to gain political mileage. It’s a court’s judgement and they should respect it. If they (Congress) don't find it appropriate, they also have option to challenge it in higher court."

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