Rahul Gandhi, the Congress leader and Modi’s main opponent, has been sentenced to two years in prison for criminal defamation by a Gujarat judge for saying that “all thieves have the Modi surname” four years ago.
For the first time, oppositions in India have united together, including those who never sided with Congress before, to share their disagreements against the court verdict.
“A conspiracy is being hatched to target all non-BJP leaders and parties by prosecuting them. We have differences with the Congress, but it is not right to implicate Rahul Gandhi in a defamation case like this. It is the job of the public and the opposition to ask questions. We respect the court but disagree with the decision,” AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal tweeted.
Samajwadi Party supremo Akhilesh Yadav tagged Rahul in a tweet and said, “defamation of the country, public defamation, defamation of harmony, defamation of the constitution, defamation of the economy. Don’t know how many types of defamation cases should be filed against the BJP. The BJP, which secures its political future by implicating the opposition in minor cases, is scared of the power of the opposition.”
Kerala CM, Pinarayi Vijayan tweeted that all democracy-loving people should come forward while AITCM Mahua Moitra called Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification as the last nail in the coffin for constitutional freedoms in India while many call Rahul’s sentence as “Black day for Indian Democracy.”
Criminal cases, arrests, and prison terms stemming from a speech, tweet, poem, or billboard have increased more than typical in recent years. Whether in Parliament or on the streets, Modi’s BJP has always reacted to dissent in an angry, draconian manner and have used legal weapons and democratic institutions against the dissidents.
The concept of democracy, according to the Modi regime, is that the governing party, the prime minister, and the government are India itself. Any criticism of any of them is treasonous and illegal, as is any hint of democracy being threatened.
Rahul Gandhi during his London tour has talked about how India is facing an attack on the basic structure of democracy. To this, during the Indian Conclave, Law Minister Kiren Rijiju said, “No one will escape. Those who work against the country will pay a price,” and went so far as to label a handful of former Supreme Court activist justices as “anti-India” simply because they spoke out against the current government and the country’s deteriorating democracy.
And only about a week later, Rahul Gandhi is being sentenced to jail in a defamation case he committed four years ago.
Apparently, we now live in the days and times where the constitutional meaning of democracy is defined and edited by Modi’s BJP as it pleases.