It doesn't end with Rahul hounding
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That our country has been ruled for the last nine years by those who are intolerant of criticism and dissent is a present day fact and experience. Initially, academics, student leaders and activists who openly opposed the policies of the ruling party were branded urban Naxals and traitors and put in jail. That is continuing unabated even now in different parts of the country. The other day, those who put up posters in Delhi demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi were taken into custody. A day before that, Kannada actor and activist Chetan Kumar was also arrested for making a post against Hindutva on Twitter. His tweet that 'Hindutva was built on lies' angered the Sangh Parivar circles. He is now in judicial custody. The fascist approach of not allowing any form of dissident voice in the country has apparently started to be adopted blatantly towards the mainstream political centres in recent times. The crackdown on 'opposition parties' by using the Centre's investigation agencies etc. has now clearly taken a new shape and turn. It is well known that the arrest of Manish Sisodia, the Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi and the undisputed leader of the Aam Aadmi Party, by the CBI a few days ago was not a straightforward action. Right when agencies had turned to Sisodia, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal had stated that the Centre was hunting down opposition leaders with a prepared list. First in this hit list is certainly Congress leader Rahul Gandhi himself. No other mainstream party leader has criticised the central government and the Sangh Parivar so fiercely these days. The hate speech against him from the Sangh Parivar quarters after the Bharat Jodo Yatra, corroborates this conclusion. Most recently, he fell victim to this trap laid by the saffron party years ago and has now lost his Lok Sabha membership.
The cause for his disqualification was that Rahul Gandhi was sentenced to two years imprisonment by the Surat Chief Judicial Magistrate Court of Gujarat on a speech he made on April 13, 2019 during his election campaign in Kolar, Karnataka. Purnesh Modi, a former minister of Gujarat and BJP MLA, filed a suit against the remark in the speech, 'How come all the thieves have Modi in their surnames?'. The court handed the maximum punishment to Rahul who was not ready to apologize for the remark. Less than 24 hours after the verdict, the Lok Sabha Secretariat issued an order disqualifying Rahul. This cannot be seen merely as a normal course of action. There is room for reading clear politics in it. In fact, the ruling party had already started trying to oust Rahul from Parliament which was in display many times during the current session. Weeks ago, the ruling side had turned against Rahul, alleging that his speech in London on Indian democracy and parliament was insulting to the country. They did not even allow Rahul to explain his side on the matter. Not only that, a move was also made to expel him from the house on that ground . The protests led by the Union Ministers in both houses of the Parliament demanding an apology from Rahul resulted in many arguments. Subsequently, BJP leaders also wrote to Speaker Om Birla asking him to form a special parliamentary committee to initiate the process to revoke Rahul's parliamentary membership. The Surat court's verdict came while this letter was under consideration and Rahul was disqualified the very next day.
It can easily be recognized that this is a result of the government's cunning moves inside and outside the Parliament to keep away the voice and presence of the political leader in Rahul Gandhi . With this, they not only get rid of Rahul, but the ruling party, which was on the defensive on the Adani issue, economic collapse and the hounding of minorities, is able to hide it all when the House is convened. It is meaningless to expect more from a grouping that dreams of a parliament without opposition. It is also clear from this that they are afraid of opposition. In a sense, this 'hunt after democracy' should be seen as the preparation of the Sangh Parivar for the next elections. But it doubtful if the opposition is seized of this in its full seriousness.
