On March 24, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was disqualified from the Lok Sabha after being convicted in the ‘Modi surname’ defamation case. Ro Khanna, the Democrat co-chair of the India Caucus in the US House of Representatives, has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to reverse the decision ‘for the sake of Indian democracy’.
Rahul Gandhi. (Photo Credits: Facebook)
New Delhi: Ro Khanna, the Democrat co-chair of the India Caucus in the US House of Representatives, has termed the move to remove Rahul Gandhi from Parliament by disqualifying him as a ‘betrayal’ of India’s ‘values’.
Khanna was last month elected co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans at the 118th Congress. He was elected for the fourth consecutive term from California in November last year.
He wrote, ‘The expulsion of Rahul Gandhi from Parliament is a deep betrayal of the Gandhian philosophy and values of India. This is not what my grandfather spent many years in jail for.
Khanna also appealed to the Indian Prime Minister to take a stand against it. He tweeted, ‘Narendra Modi you have the power to reverse this decision for the sake of Indian democracy.’
The expulsion of Rahul Gandhi from parliament is a deep betrayal of Gandhian philosophy and India’s deepest values. This is not what my grandfather sacrificed years in jail for. @narendramodi You have the power to reverse this decision for the sake of Indian democracy. https://t.co/h85qlYMn1J
Ro Khanna (@RoKhanna) March 24, 2023
Ro Khanna, who spoke out against Hindutva before taking over as India Caucus co-chair, said he would work to complete the strategic partnership and that we have to respect the democratically elected leadership in India.
He said in an interview with NBC News, “I will work to strengthen these human rights values while upholding them.”
The India Caucus is the largest country-specific bipartisan coalition of MPs in the House of Representatives. Ro Khanna is the second Indian-American to become the co-chair of the India Caucus after Ami Bera.
US Senator Chris Van Hollen tweeted saying, ‘As a friend of India this news is worrying. In a healthy democracy, you don’t silence the opposition – you debate with them. Freedom of expression is essential for a democracy and India has already fallen to 150th place in the list of 180 countries in the World Press Freedom Index. This is another step in the wrong direction.
As a friend of India, this news is alarming. In a healthy democracy, you don’t silence opposition — you debate them. Free speech is essential to democracy & India has already fallen to #150 out of #180 in the World Press Freedom Index. This is another step in the wrong direction. https://t.co/r74urgJz7I
— Senator Chris Van Hollen (@ChrisVanHollen) March 24, 2023
It may be known that on March 23, a court in Surat in Gujarat sentenced Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to two years in jail in a 2019 criminal defamation case filed against him for his alleged ‘Modi surname’ remark.
However, shortly thereafter, the court granted Rahul Gandhi bail on a surety of Rs 15,000 and stayed the sentence for 30 days to allow him to appeal.
A case was registered against Rahul on April 13, 2019, by BJP MLA and former Gujarat minister Purnesh Modi. He had complained about the remarks made by Rahul at a rally in Kolar, Karnataka during the Lok Sabha elections.
Rahul Gandhi had reportedly said during the rally, ‘All thieves, be it Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi or Narendra Modi, why they have Modi in their names.’
On March 24, a day after his conviction, Rahul Gandhi was disqualified from the Lok Sabha. In a notification issued by the Lok Sabha Secretariat, it was said that Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi has been disqualified from March 23, 2023.
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