End of dynasties, not of democracy
Er P L Khushu
A Court in Surat, (Gujarat), convicted Rahul Gandhi recently in a defamation case, sentencing him to 2 years imprisonment and imposition of some fine. The import of language of the court order in this case was to convey, that such irresponsible utterances by responsible people of the country should be stopped. The judgment conveys, ‘When someone of an MP level addresses common people, the intensity of crime increases. If he is given lesser punishment, it gives out a wrong message to society that anyone can say anything and get away with it without consequences. Hence, keeping in mind everything, the accused is given two years imprisonment and is asked to pay a fine.’ The case pertains to Gandhi’s remarks at a rally in Karnataka’s Kolar on April 13, 2019, just ahead of Lok Sabha elections. ‘How come all the thieves have Modi as the common surname,’ he had allegedly remarked. The case was registered on a complaint lodged by BJP MLA and former Gujarat minister Purnesh Modi, who alleged Gandhi’s remark defamed the entire Modi community. Gandhi was sentenced under sections 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which deals with criminal defamation. The maximum possible punishment under these sections is two years. Later, the court granted him bail and suspended the sentence for 30 days, to allow him to appeal in a higher court. A two-year imprisonment for Rahul Gandhi technically attracts disqualification from Lok Sabha under Section 8(3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.
According to section, 8(3) of the Representation of the People Act, any MP or MLA convicted of any offence and sentenced to imprisonment for not less than two years shall be disqualified from the date of conviction. It means, as of 23 March, 2023, Rahul Gandhi stands disqualified as an MP. He will also not be able to contest the upcoming 2024 general elections unless his conviction is stayed. Such stay could come from higher court with or without conditions.
In the aftermath of this court order sentencing him to two years imprisonment, the present congress party managed to traumatize and dramatize this situation as a distinct assault on democracy in India. Rahul Gandhi to his utter misunderstanding continued to sing the impious song of his commitment to stand for and by truth, by making repeated fictitious and slanderous attacks on Modi, for having helped the Adani’s through the financial helps at the cost of the state exchequer. In his snoring voices about it, looking like coming from his deceptive slumber, which may not ultimately land him in jail, he was joined by other congress coterie members handpicked recently by the present organizing trio of congress party, which includes him, his sister and the queen mother. Seen closely all these handpicked new members, were in deep oblivion so far, due to their non-representative faces and postures. These handpicked coterie of the present congress party, who got themselves installed as the leaders of the congress party through proxy and back doors, after the debasing of the original Stalwarts’ of congress party like G N Azad, Scindia, and many more, were seen beating their breasts about Rahul Gandhi’s hanging fate, to show themselves as more loyal than the king, to the queens and the prince of the present congress party. This dynasty based political party made the other political parties of India which too have their existence on the dynasty planks , to join them in a massive manner, when they jointly tried to make a show of their existence as a united opposition against Modi. This conglomeration of the dynasty based political parties of this country almost held the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha at ransom by asking for a JPC robe in the Adani’s group of companies workings with the government of India on multiple developmental schemes etc. The whole work of the both houses of parliament came to a grounding halt. This entire dynasty based political parties, made their solidarity behind Rahul Gandhi, exhibited by wearing black robes both outside and inside the parliament. It needs to be mentioned here that the well thinking people of India, condemned their actions as anti national activities. It looked like that their black robes were the significant reprehensive characters of their black deeds of the past, when these political parties have allegedly looted this country one way or the other while being in power. Now being scared of Modi for his imposing of a smart and a tough tirade against corruption, throughout the country, when the CBI, ED, Income Tax Departments etc, are actively probing all these eagles and monsters of corruption, of these political parties, they are now hell bent to portray themselves as the sympathizers of nation and its people falsely. They are doing so, by repeating a one line sentence, that get a probe done by JPC in the Adani’s dealings. There another one line murmuring slogan is that the democracy in India is in danger. They feel that a common country man will start distancing away from Modi, who is otherwise very much popular amongst the masses of India for his honest and dedicated work for his countrymen, of all races, colors and religions. Probably these misadventures of these dynasty based political parties for regaining their lost political power back, will prove disastrous for these political parties. These political parties are a recognized lot of fountain heads of various types of misdeeds, as they have divided the people of India on cast and religion basis, apart from their histories and tales of alleged corrupt practices, while ruling in various capacities and zones in the past. Their own present existence is in deep peril within their own locations.
The other part of this episode of Rahul Gandhi’s conviction is very much unfortunate for the congress party of India, in the sense that its present managers are glorifying it, to its utter disaster. These managers are feeling that Rahul Gandhi has become a real hero of congress, which the present coterie of the congress party, wants badly in one form or the other, in their utter political dilemma, to have Rahul Gandhi installed back in lime light against Modi and BJP. They feel that Rahul Gandhi will regain his lost sheen and base, which he has lost and surrendered by virtue of his own bad and immature utterances against Modi and the systematic and the honest working of the present government, under Modi. This immature step will doom the congress party to its further devastation and ruin. Apart from that, the existence of the dynasty, (Gandhi Family), which is fathering this political party presently, for its personal and prejudicial benefits and gains to see the dreams of regaining power back, may seize to exist very shortly in this process. By any standards of the fluency of verbose of the present managers of this political party, as also through the body languages of the committed workers of this political party, it appears that most of them are caught between the devil and the deep sea, for the sins and mistakes of theirs mentors in the present congress party, which prominently includes Rahul Gandhi. They have no choice but to praise Rahul Gandhi in any case. That is the only source of their existence in this party under the circumstances. It is learnt that who so ever raises a banner of revolt in the present congress party is shown the door by the present trios of the congress party high command, which are none other than the mother, son and daughter trio. Rahul Gandhi went to battle against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in elections four years ago waving the banner of India’s multi-sectarian tradition and characterizing Modi as a dangerous Hindu nationalist who would whittle away the country’s democracy, if he remained in power. He repeatedly expressed his venom against Modi by saying that ‘Chowkidar Chor Hai’ in all the election rallies and meetings. This rallied against him and his congress party badly. The congress party was shown the door. So was Rahul Gandhi. Modi’s land slide victory, in the 2019 elections, buried Gandhi and the congress party under its own weight, when they forgot their existence in parliament, like rumbling wanderers during stormy rains. He and his political party should have learned a lesson from such evidential failures by inflicting self-goals for themselves. It needed a through introspection by the head leaders of this cranky political party at that point of time about its dark future. As against that, the dynastic trio of the Queen, the Prince and the Princess of this political party showed the door to its veterans and packed them like a pack of cards. This is what is the result of this political party this time which is being managed by immature and sycophants of various calibers. This newly created congress party, is reduced now to a family affair of a mother, son and a daughter only and supported by some sycophants across the country. This is where the democracy in India is unsafe in their hands, if at all they come to power by any means of hypocritical maneuvering of the electorate in the coming elections of 2024. That will be a big misfortune for the country. Let the democracy of this country redeveloped under the sweet and honest leadership of Modi, be not allowed to extinct, as it was earlier. The sample example in this regard is the mass exodus of the Kashmiri Pandits from their homes and hearths in Kashmir just almost in one night, when such like political parties were ruling the nation and the State of Jammu and Kashmir.
‘At a lecture at Cambridge University, the Rahul Gandhi had said that the Indian democracy is under pressure and opposition voices are being stifled. Rahul Gandhi has said, ‘Everybody knows and it’s been in the news a lot that Indian democracy is under pressure and under attack. I am an opposition leader in India, we are navigating that (opposition) space. The institutional framework that is required for democracy is Parliament, free press, and the judiciary, just the idea of mobilization, and moving around all are getting constrained. So, we are facing an attack on the basic structure of Indian democracy. India is described as a Union of states and that Union requires a negotiation and a conversation. This is increasingly coming under threat. Rahul Gandhi on his part reminded the audience at the events that the western powers like the US and the UK which pride themselves as defenders of democracy have been ‘oblivious’ to the systematic erosion of democracy in India. It is unfortunate to observe that how Rahul Gandhi has washed his own dirty linen in a foreign country under a planned international conspiracy, of being a monster enemy of his own country, while denouncing the golden growth of India under the honest and serene leadership of Modi. As a politician representing a known political party, should he have degraded his own country on the foreign soil. Can he become a diplomat of repute, which he is trying to be with such poisonous utterances against his own country, which otherwise means against his own self? Same is the case with him which is related to the bad languages he usually uses in his public lectures or sometimes in press briefings, when he obviously forgets the protocol of the dignity of expressing himself against or in favor of any other VIP or even an ordinary person. Above all his rigid approach, feeling himself holier than thou, which he is not, may sometimes land him in a bigger trouble, when he already is in a declared trouble for his defamatory remarks against the Modi community. Had he politely expressed his sorrow and simply said sorry for his such utterances of defaming others before the Magistrate at Surat court, the situation would have been different. His misconception about his own self that he is the progeny of a royal clan which ruled the country for decades, will put him on the crown of India as a crown prince is a misnomer and a dream of a myopia for him. His present mentors in the present congress party, if there is one, should restrain and guide him to be polite and sober, with a good visions of political angularity, if he wants to head this residual congress party. Otherwise it appears like the end of this dynasty as a political dynasty of decades, which will be quite unfortunate for the country. Similarly, the present residual congress party may not become a stale residue due to its own dumping. That will again be a big jolt, as a matured opposition is necessary in a developing country for the betterment of the people.
(The author is a Chartered Consultant Civil Engineer, passionately
attached and devoted to his
motherland – Jammu & Kashmir).
