You thought it was just Pakistan that had the world’s eyes glued to its political soap opera, which has been continuing for the last over a year. Well, not exactly. Another drama is unfolding just across the border, and the antagonist-or protagonist, whatever you want to call him, is none other than the scion of the greatest political dynasty in India, Rahul Gandhi. Former president of the Indian National Congress and the main opposition leader, Gandhi was disqualified as a member of Lok Sabha, India’s lower house after he was convicted in a defamation case. He was also sentenced to two years in jail.
Gandhi had been facing a case linked to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s surname. In a speech back in 2019 during an election campaign, Rahul Gandhi questioned why all thieves had Modi as their common surname. Reacting to the judgement, Gandhi tweeted that he was fighting for India’s voice and that he will pay any price for it. According to India’s Representation of the People Act, 1951, a politician convicted of any offence would face disqualification and imprisonment for not less than two years.
If the conviction of Gandhi is not suspended or overturned by a higher court, he might not be able to contest national elections in 2024. Terming the judgement politically motivated, Congress has announced that it would appeal against the magistrate’s decision in a higher court. Protests also erupted in some parts of the country following the conviction, and many party leaders took to Twitter to condemn the decision.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government has been accused of using the defamation law to target critics. Rahul Gandhi faces two more defamation cases and one money laundering case in various courts.
If one thinks about it, there seems to be a similarity between the political dramas being played out in the two countries. In both scenarios, polls are closing in – 2023 being the election year in Pakistan and 2024 in India. In the run-up to the polls, opposition leaders on either side have been slapped with cases.
Both the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) and Congress are accusing their country’s respective governments of instituting cases to target political opponents. And both parties had somewhat similar reactionary statements on to issue. Congress spokesman Pawan Khera said the party was ready to “fight this legally and of course politically”. He went on to say that Rahul Gandhi might not have been as lethal or dangerous for them in the parliament, but he would be far more dangerous for them to handle on the streets of India as people were with them.
In one of his speeches in early 2022, Imran Khan, who was the prime minister at the time, had also warned that he would be more dangerous for them if ousted from power. “You will not find a place to hide if I took to the streets,” he had said. From all of this one can conclude that be it India, Pakistan or Bangladesh, South Asian politics has always revolved around intimidation and coercion.
The “set of rules” laid down decades ago is still in vogue.
