The disqualification of Rahul Gandhi was the decision of the court and not the government —This was the first reaction from the BJP which has geared itself up for post-disqualification politics. The first step was distancing itself from the judgment, terming it a legal and constitutional decision.
The second step in that direction is to label it as the internal politics of Congress. Union I&B Minister Anurag Thakur was quick to point out who would benefit in the party from Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification. Former law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad asked where the battery of top Congress leaders was when the Surat court was to pronounce its judgment. Prasad said even in the case of Pawan Khera, the entire Congress was on its toes but the same was missing for Rahul Gandhi.
Thirdly, the BJP will start an all-India campaign to expose Rahul Gandhi as anti-OBC, stressing on the comments for which he was sentenced. From April 6, all OBC MPs, MLAs, and ministers of the BJP will fan out across the country to hold meetings against Rahul Gandhi’s “anti-backward” speech.
Law is Equal for All
The Congress has described the judgment as politically motivated and blamed the government and the BJP. However, the government’s stand is that Rahul Gandhi’s membership of Parliament automatically ended after the court’s decision.
The government cited the rule under Section 8(3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. This states that as soon as a Member of Parliament is convicted of an offence and sentenced to imprisonment for a term of not less than two years, they shall be liable for disqualification and their Parliament membership will be cancelled.
Who Tore The Ordinance on Disqualification?
The Supreme Court in April 2013 held that MPs and MLAs convicted with a minimum two-year sentence will be immediately disqualified from the house without getting three months to appeal. Then, the ruling Congress government in the Centre hurriedly pushed an ordinance that sought to overturn the rule that disqualifies convicted MPs and MLAs.
At that time, Rahul Gandhi openly came out against his party’s decision and called the move “complete nonsense”. In a stunning move at a press conference, he tore the ordinance and the Congress eventually scrapped it.
SC Upheld Defamation Law, Rejected Rahul, Kejriwal Plea
In 2016, the Supreme Court dismissed a batch of petitions against the constitutional validity of the defamation law under Sections 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code. The petitions were filed by Rahul Gandhi, Arvind Kejriwal and Subramanian Swamy and others against the constitutional validity of the defamation law.
Even though Rahul Gandhi and Arvind Kejriwal were parties, why are newspapers, Kejriwal or the Congress not mentioning this now? The petitioners had argued that the criminal defamation law was in conflict with the freedom of speech and expression. But the top court refused to buy the argument. The bench said defamation doesn’t have any “chilling effect on freedom of speech” and it is not necessary for all in the chorus to sing the same song.
Former PM Nehru Added ‘Conditions Apply’ to Article 19(1)(a)
India’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru introduced the first amendment in the Constitution in 1951 to curtail freedom of expression guaranteed in Article 19 (1)(a) by imposing “reasonable restrictions” on that freedom.
When A Congress Leader Hijacked a Plane for Indira Gandhi
On December 26, 1978, Indira Gandhi was released from jail. Six days prior to that, Congress workers had hijacked a plane to demand her release. Congress, instead of condemning the act which was a threat to national security, rewarded the hijackers with party tickets for the 1980 state assembly election.
Not Only Rahul, 200 Leaders Have Been Disqualified
So far in the country’s democratic history, 200 MPs and MLAs have been disqualified for various reasons. This is another reason why top government sources are questioning the song and dance by the Congress after Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification.
Opposition Statements Do Not Amount To Electoral ‘Unity’
The Congress party welcomed the statement of support from all opposition leaders and called for “systematic” opposition unity. However, government sources claimed the statements do not amount to coming together in elections. There are dozens of factors and equations in an election and just giving a statement does not mean anything.
The emerging political scenario shows that the stage is set for the battle of 2024 and it’s clearly Prime Minister Narendra Modi vs Rahul Gandhi.
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