SHILLONG:
State BJP president Ernest Mawrie, on August 7, said that the Supreme Court’s verdict, staying the ruling passed by the Gujarat High Court in the defamation case against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, doesn’t stand to gain or lose the party.
“From the government, we are not misusing our power; disqualifying Rahul Gandhi was a court’s direction. Yes, Rahul appealed to the Supreme Court against the verdict of the Gujarat High Court and got relief. I don’t know why people are blaming BJP,” Mawrie said.
“There is no gain, no loss,” the state BJP president said, adding that whether Rahul Gandhi will be reinstated as the Lok Sabha MP is up to the Speaker to decide.
Countering statements that the SC’s verdict is a setback and humiliation to the BJP, Mawrie said, “It is not a setback because back then, the speaker had to oblige the ruling of the high court. Now, he will study the matter and decide accordingly.”
Meanwhile, reacting to remarks against the BJP government in Manipur, Mawrie said that contrary to the opposition’s remarks that the BJP has failed Manipur, the governments – both at the centre and state, are doing their best to restore peace in the violent-hit northeastern state.
“Everyone is doing their best to bring normalcy in Manipur. The visit of the prime minister is not as simple as one thinks; there are many factors. Let’s see after the parliament sessions, many union ministers will be traveling to Manipur to monitor the situation,” he added.
To a question on whether the decision of NDA ally – the Kuki People’s Alliance to withdraw support from the Biren Singh-led BJP government in Manipur is a setback to the government, Mawrie replied in the negative.
“In Manipur, we have the BJP government and we have sufficient numbers so the withdrawal of two MLAs will not affect the government and we have other alliance partners like the NPP,” the state BJP president said.