Gandhi鈥檚 expulsion: Bad for Indian democracy, good for opposition?
| Gurugram, India
In January, a euphoric Rahul Gandhi finished a monthslong march to 鈥渦nite India鈥� against the religious divisions sowed, he says, by his political opponent Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Now, the star of the Indian National Congress party stands expelled from Parliament, and possibly barred from India鈥檚 upcoming general election, in what political observers and rights groups are calling an assault on the integrity of Indian democracy.
A court in Gujarat, Mr. Modi鈥檚 home state, found Mr. Gandhi guilty of defamation last week for a 2019 speech that compared the prime minister to corrupt businessmen who shared his surname. 鈥淲hy are all thieves called Modi?鈥� Mr. Gandhi had said. The court granted Mr. Gandhi 30 days bail to appeal the verdict, but the lower house of Parliament 鈥� which is controlled by Mr. Modi鈥檚 Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) 鈥� expelled him from the legislature the next day.聽
Mr. Gandhi鈥檚 disqualification 鈥渟ignifies the systematic, repetitive emasculation of democratic institutions by the ruling party,鈥� Congress politician Abhishek Sanghvi said in a press conference. 鈥淚t signifies the strangulation of democracy itself.鈥�
Why We Wrote This
A story focused onCritics have called the expulsion of opposition leader Rahul Gandhi an assault on the integrity of India鈥檚 democracy 鈥� but it鈥檚 also inspiring rare unity among different parties, which could sway upcoming elections.
While Mr. Gandhi is expected to file an appeal soon to reverse his conviction, political analysts say what has happened to him could be a boon in disguise 鈥� a rallying point for India鈥檚 opposition ahead of the 2024 elections. Members of Parliament from more than a dozen different parties wore black during parliamentary sessions in Delhi this week to protest Mr. Gandhi鈥檚 removal and the weakening of Indian democracy, while Congress supporters rallied against the BJP in demonstrations from Jaipur to Hyderabad.
鈥淭he opposition needs to come together,鈥� says Rasheed Kidwai, a political analyst at the Observer Research Foundation, a think tank in Delhi. 鈥淚n order to make a dent in Mr. Modi鈥檚 popularity, [it] needs to have a narrative that says how the Indian democracy is coming under strain.鈥澛�
An unexpected opportunity?
Once a dominant force in Indian politics, the Congress party has struggled to rebuild itself since Mr. Modi came to power in 2014, and it only controls a handful of states today. In addition to the Congress, there are numerous regional parties and a handful of communist parties that make up India鈥檚 opposition. Their leaders seldom agree on policies or ideology, says Mr. Kidwai. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e fragmented and the vote gets divided,鈥� which prevented the opposition from mounting a significant challenge to the ruling BJP in 2019, he explains.
Mr. Gandhi鈥檚 disqualification presents a rare opportunity for the Congress to unite India鈥檚 fractured opposition against the BJP, says Mr. Kidwai. Leaders of several opposition parties have already come out to support the convicted lawmaker. 鈥淩esist and defeat such authoritarian assaults,鈥� a communist party leader . Others called his disqualification and
Mr. Gandhi鈥檚 expulsion from parliament has bolstered the opposition鈥檚 line of attack against the ruling party, more so, some argue, than his time in parliament did.聽
鈥淚t鈥檚 politically more beneficial for Congress if he remains outside the parliament than if he gets reinstated,鈥� says political commentator Ashok Swain, a professor at Uppsala University in Sweden.
Congress leaders and supporters have been demonstrating in several cities this week. But with elections more than a year away, Mr. Kidwai says the Congress needs to generate a greater buzz among voters to sustain momentum.聽
鈥淚f [Mr. Gandhi] wants to play the victim card, he needs to get the entire opposition to fan out in their respective states. Otherwise, it has every chance to fizzle out,鈥� he says.
And despite the unifying effect, the ruling against Mr. Gandhi and his expulsion from parliament still raise questions about the integrity of India鈥檚 institutions.聽
Threatening the integrity of India鈥檚 institutions
Navika Harshe, an economist in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad, walked alongside Mr. Gandhi for a short span of his unity march last November. The news of his disqualification came as a shock to her.
鈥淭here are lakhs [hundreds of thousands] of people whose aspirations he represents. You have just dismissed all of that in one stroke,鈥� she says, adding that the actions against Mr. Gandhi evoke 鈥渁 sense of dread and fear.鈥�
Some find the ruling unfair. When compared to what other politicians, including BJP leaders, have said, Mr. Gandhi鈥檚 remark 鈥渋s absolutely nothing,鈥� says Mr. Swain, adding that such statements are made every other day in India.
Mr. Gandhi鈥檚 disqualification is part of a broader pattern of democratic setbacks, according to the United States-based advocacy group Hindus for Human Rights.
鈥淭his comes at the end of a week of anti-democratic actions taken by the Indian government, including a massive internet shutdown in Punjab and the strengthening of the draconian [anti-terrorism] law,鈥� Nikhil Mandalaparthy, the聽deputy executive director of Hindus for Human Rights聽told 海角大神 in a text message. 鈥淚n recent years, the Indian government has cracked down against any voices of dissent in the country, including students, academics, human rights defenders, and politicians from opposition parties.鈥澛�
Indeed, Mr. Gandhi had emerged as one of the prime minister鈥檚 most relentless critics, questioning him in parliament about the government鈥檚 ties to billionaire Gautam Adani, who was accused of fraud earlier this year.聽
But the BJP denies that the case was politically motivated. 鈥淭he law has done its job, the BJP had nothing to do with it,鈥� says spokesperson Khemchand Sharma. 鈥淔irst they defame and now they are spreading misinformation. [The Congress] won鈥檛 get any sympathy from the public.鈥澛�
On Tuesday, Mr. Modi addressed the opposition backlash, saying 鈥淐onspiracies are being hatched to end the credibility of our institutions鈥� and to undercut the BJP鈥檚 efforts to weed out corruption.
Mr. Gandhi was sentenced to two years for the defamation case, effective late April. That鈥檚 the minimum sentence required to trigger a parliamentary expulsion, per Indian law, though reports suggest the law is implemented inconsistently.
Ms. Harshe, the Congress supporter, says she has faith in the integrity of India鈥檚 judiciary and is hopeful of Mr. Gandhi鈥檚 return to parliament. For his part, Mr. Gandhi has vowed to 鈥渒eep fighting for India鈥檚 democracy鈥� and questioning Mr. Modi, whether he鈥檚 reinstated as a member of Parliament or not. Next week he will kick off a nationwide protest called the 鈥淪atyamev Jayate鈥� agitation 鈥� which translates to 鈥渢ruth alone triumphs鈥� and is also India鈥檚 national motto 鈥� in Kolar, Karnataka, the same place he made the controversial Modi comment.
