The disqualification of Rahul Gandhi is now a fait accompli. The two-year jail sentence was imposed by a judicial court for abusing the Modi community. Rahul got carried away in an election meeting in Kolar, Karnataka, in 2019 while taking on Modi, which obviously included Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi, and Narendra Modi. His unpreparedness and extempore speeches have frequently landed his party in embarrassment, which explains the seven more defamation cases against the Congress party scion.
The Congress party went into a huddle after the court’s sentence and perhaps thought to make the best of it, trying to convert the difficulty into an opportunity, shifting the blame on Modi and the BJP. The expected lines were, “The disqualification was due to Rahul’s pressing for a discussion and a JPC on Adani,” which may not cut much ice now. Rahul was given many chances by the court to apologise, but he refused to do so. He may have put too much faith in his political and family legacies.
Rahul’s disqualification by the speaker was just a formality. He was already disqualified under Section 8 of the RPA because of the court orders. At this point, talking of conspiracy and anything else may please the party cadres who have taken to the streets in protest of their leader. Any violence and breach of law and order against a judgement would only boomerang on the party and the scion’s move in the appeals court for a stay on the execution of the order.
It could be a clever strategic move by the Congress party, which is reacting the way it is after the lacklustre result of Rahul’s Bharat Jodo Yatra. The 2024 general elections are nearing, and for the Congress party, it is a do-or-die situation. Regional satraps are raising their heads, challenging the might of the Congress party. The party is like an old and feeble lion surrounded by hungry hyenas. Therefore, an adrenaline shot is urgently required. Can Rahul become a martyr, even if he must spend some time in jail, and galvanise all the political parties to take on the BJP? That seems like a distant but distinct possibility.
Interestingly, many opposition leaders joined the protest march against Rahul’s disqualification, which they said was a clear case of conspiracy. But major parties like the Trinamool and the YSR Congress were noticeably absent. India did wind up when Lalu Yadav or Jayalalithaa were jailed, and the scenario would be no different now. The euphoria would soon quiet down as the opposition parties would each weigh their own gains and losses in fighting for Rahul’s cause.
Rahul went public today with a press conference that was a tad disappointing. He went on repeating about Rs. 20,000 crores that came through shell companies to the Adani Group, indicating that they could belong to the ruling party. Sending out black money by hawala route and round-tripping it through shell companies from tax havens like Mauritius is well known. Attempts to curb the menace faced routs in our markets, and the then-UPA government let them be.
Rahul looked calm, but he was really confused and upset. He snapped at a reporter and accused him of being a BJP member, then chuckled and said, “ab toh hawa nikalgaya,” which means “he is punctured.” The other gross mistake was claiming that he was not Savarkar but Gandhi. Invoking Mahatma Gandhi has been usual for Rahul and his clan, although neither symbolically nor otherwise he can claim to be equal to or related to Mahatma Gandhi in any manner.
Rahul is a spent case in a spent party, and I am not unhappy that the law has stood tall to remind the fact that parliamentarians have no special status in criminal courts.
Sampath Kumar
Intrépide Voix
