Brace for rancorous politics

With Rahul Gandhi disqualified from the Lok Sabha, it is once again a cacophonous period for Indian politics. Rahul became a political victim of his own 'karma' wherein he tore away Dr Manmohan Singh's Ordinance dramatically claiming no convicted politician should be shielded in 2013. There will be the usual players and a familiar script. More abuse will follow and more similes and metaphors will be used in attacking the rivals and more claims of sabotage of the Indian democracy will be made.

The Parliament is already stalled over the comments of Rahul Gandhi in the UK recently. The judgment of a Surat Court the other day sentencing Rahul for a two year term for defaming the Prime Minister dragging his family name in his speech only adds to the uncertainty of Indian politics. The Congress party will naturally attempt to extract political mileage out of it. The BJP will only be too happy to see the drama unfold as it perceives the Congress under Rahul's leadership as its 'TRP' source.

What next for the Congress and Rahul? The conviction and sentencing in a 2019 defamation case by a court in Gujarat has cost him his position as a member of parliament. The Lok Sabha Secretariat did not lose much time in disqualifying him. While some experts had said the Lok Sabha MP from Kerala's Wayanad stands "automatically" disqualified with the conviction, others were hopeful that the action can be staved off if he managed to get the conviction overturned. Rahul was granted bail and his sentence was suspended for 30 days to let him appeal the decision, but the court's order led to his automatic disqualification. Section 8(3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, says that the moment a Member of Parliament is convicted of any offence and sentenced for at least two years, she or he attracts disqualification.

Luminaries like Mahesh Jethmalani and Kapil Sibal (former Congress leader) were also of the view that Rahul stood automatically disqualified. "He (Rahul Gandhi) can stay on as a member of parliament only if there is a stay on the conviction," Sibal told the media. What would be the take of the higher courts on the Surat Court verdict is to be seen. As Sibal has noted, is the conviction bizarre? Political acrimony has peaked long back in the country. It has become a no-holds-barred battle of political parties with the Opposition, additionally, accusing the Centre of misusing investigating agencies. The ruling BJP has always dismissed these charges as calumny and the agencies like Enforcement Directorate have released statistics to prove that the number of cases filed against the politicians are quite insignificant compared to the overall caseload, which is a fact.

The impression being given by the Opposition is that the ED and the CBI etc are there only to witch-hunt it. Dozens of raids are taking place every day and cases are being filed at regular intervals by these agencies. If the verdict is not cancelled by any higher court, Rahul Gandhi will also not be allowed to contest elections for the next eight years. Of course, the Congress leader plans to challenge the verdict in a higher court. Brace up for Rahul-centric politics now. The rest in the Opposition will have not much space now anyway. This is what the BJP seeks.

The moot question is will this unite the entire Opposition now against the BJP for a larger agitation?