Could never imagine something like this could happen, says Rahul Gandhi

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said that he was the first person to be given a maximum sentence for defamation and had never imagined something like him being disqualified from the Lok Sabha could ever happen when he joined politics two decades ago reported news agency ANIReferring to his disqualification from Lok Sabha as a Member of Parliament MP Rahul Gandhi who is on a 10day tour to the US made the remarks at Stanford University in California on WednesdayI dont think when I joined politics in 2004 I ever imagined what I see going on in our country It was way outside what I had ever imagined Rahul Gandhi saidI was the first person to be given a criminal sentence for defamation and the maximum sentence to be disqualified from the parliament I didnt imagine something like this was possible But I think it has given me a huge opportunity probably much bigger than the opportunity I would have gotten sitting in the parliament thats just the way politics works said Rahul Gandhi reported ANIHis remarks come a day after he while addressing the Indian diaspora in San Francisco lashed out at the PM ModiRahul Gandhi in March was disqualified as a member of the Lok Sabha after a Surat court sentenced him to two years imprisonment in a defamation case filed against him over his Modi surname remarkThe decision came pertaining to his remark made in April 2019 where he had said how come all the thieves have Modi as the common surname at a Lok Sabha election rally at Kolar in Karnataka The court approved Gandhis bail on a surety and stayed the sentence for 30 days to allow him to approach the higher courtsIn his Stanford address Gandhi said that opposition in India is struggling and the drama started months agoThe drama started six months ago We were strugglingThe opposition is struggling in India A huge financial dominance institutional capture struggling to fight the Democratic fight in our country None of the systems were working said Rahul GandhiDemocracy isnt just about an opposition party Its about several institutions that support the opposition Those institutions were either captured or were not playing the role they were supposed to play he addedOn Tuesday addressing NRIs in California Rahul Gandhi took Taking a jibe at PM Modi Rahul Gandhi said that some groups in India have the disease of being under the impression that they know everythingIn India we grew up with people of different languages different religions And that is what is being attacked The tradition in India of people like Gandhi Ji and Guru Nanak Ji has been that you should not be under the impression of knowing everything It is a disease that some groups of India think that they know everything Even if they have a conversation with God they might explain to him he saidFurther adding to his remark the Congress leader said And of course Prime Minister is one of them If you make him sit with God he would start explaining to him God how the universe worksand God would get confused about what I had createdThe remarks triggered a backlash from BJP who criticised the Congress leader of using foreign soil to tarnish the image of IndiaRahul Gandhi is on a 10day visit to the country He will cover three cities San Francisco Washington DC and New YorkCould never imagine something like this could happen Rahul Gandhi on disqualification from ParliamentSan Francisco US June 1 ANI Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said that he was the first person to be given a maximum sentence for defamation and had never imagined something like him being disqualified from the Lok Sabha could ever happen when he joined politics two decades agoReferring to his disqualification from Lok Sabha as a Member of Parliament MP Rahul Gandhi who is on a 10day tour to the US made the remarks at Stanford University in California on WednesdayI dont think when I joined politics in 2004 I ever imagined what I see going on in our country It was way outside what I had ever imagined Gandhi saidI was the first person to be given a criminal sentence for defamation and the maximum sentence to be disqualified from the parliament I didnt imagine something like this was possible But I think it has given me a huge opportunity probably much bigger than the opportunity I would have gotten sitting in the parliament thats just the way politics works said Rahul GandhiHis remarks come a day after he while addressing the Indian diaspora in San Francisco lashed out at the PM ModiRahul Gandhi in March was disqualified as a member of the Lok Sabha after a Surat court sentenced him to two years imprisonment in a defamation case filed against him over his Modi surname remarkThe decision came pertaining to his remark made in April 2019 where he had said how come all the thieves have Modi as the common surname at a Lok Sabha election rally at Kolar in Karnataka The court approved Gandhis bail on a surety and stayed the sentence for 30 days to allow him to approach the higher courtsIn his Stanford address Gandhi said that opposition in India is struggling and the drama started months agoThe drama started six months ago We were strugglingThe opposition is struggling in India A huge financial dominance institutional capture struggling to fight the Democratic fight in our country None of the systems were working said Rahul GandhiDemocracy isnt just about an opposition party Its about several institutions that support the opposition Those institutions were either captured or were not playing the role they were supposed to play he addedOn Tuesday addressing NRIs in California Rahul Gandhi took Taking a jibe at PM Modi Rahul Gandhi said that some groups in India have the disease of being under the impression that they know everythingIn India we grew up with people of different languages different religions And that is what is being attacked The tradition in India of people like Gandhi Ji and Guru Nanak Ji has been that you should not be under the impression of knowing everything It is a disease that some groups of India think that they know everything Even if they have a conversation with God they might explain to him he saidFurther adding to his remark the Congress leader said And of course Prime Minister is one of them If you make him sit with God he would start explaining to him God how the universe worksand God would get confused about what I had createdThe remarks triggered a backlash from BJP who criticised the Congress leader of using foreign soil to tarnish the image of IndiaRahul Gandhi is on a 10day visit to the country He will cover three cities San Francisco Washington DC and New YorkWith inputs from ANI