Rahul and his ‘fathomless acumen’

 

Immediately after the Surat court’s verdict sentencing Rahul Gandhi, Congress leaders, his supporters, intellectuals and journalists started to create a hue and cry about the entire issue. They began agitating as if this decision brought an end to the country’s democracy and replaced it with dictatorship. Sessions Court of Surat has sentenced Rahul Gandhi.

Section 8 of the Representation of People Act, 1951 says a lawmaker sentenced to not less than two years upon conviction will be disqualified. This is due to the amendment made to the Representation of the People Act. Now if an appeal is immediately sought in the Supreme Court against this verdict and a stay is obtained, Rahul Gandhi’s membership in the Lok Sabha will not get affected. But instead of taking this legal route, Rahul Gandhi and his Congress leaders are busy protesting against the court’s decision and taking to the streets claiming that they no longer have faith in the judicial system of the country. Members of the Gandhi family believe that they are supreme, bigger than the constitution made by Dr Ambedkar and the laws passed by the Parliament and the courts. The Congressmen are also trying to create an impression in the minds of the people that the laws of the country are not binding on the Gandhi clan. In fact, the Nehru-Gandhi clan and those who try to appease them have always undermined our constitution, our democracy and the judicial system of our country. We will discuss it later.

Let us first look at this entire episode for which Rahul Gandhi has been sentenced and hence his disqualification. Against this backdrop, it is also important to revisit the remarks he passed four years ago during a public meeting held in Karnataka and try to understand his intent. At the same time, it is also important to recall how Rahul Gandhi had to tender an unconditional apology four years ago before the Supreme Court for his allegations about the Rafale aircraft deal.

Rahul Gandhi had blatantly declared that his remark ‘Chowkidar Chor Hai’ was accepted by the Supreme Court. It may be recalled that petitions were filed in the Supreme Court challenging this Rafale procurement deal. During the hearing of these petitions, the Supreme Court rejected the request made by the central government regarding a few documents. Based on this rejection, Rahul Gandhi proclaimed that even the Supreme Court had accepted his ‘Chowkidar Chor Hai’ slogan. Naturally, an appeal was filed against it in the Supreme Court. That is when he realized what he had said and the serious consequences of his statement. Rahul Gandhi literally grovelled before the Supreme Court and admitted his mistake. This is the extent of his acumen and no one can do anything about it.

Now since he hails a family that has ruled the country for many years, he believes that he has the right to insult anyone. We have nothing to say about it. What surprises me is that unfortunately he knows not what he is doing and saying and it is beyond his acumen. And that leads to further chaos. Rahul Gandhi is habituated to hitting the ‘wide balls’ and this calls for such punishments for him. Now, neither Congress supporters nor intellectuals and journalists will accept this fact.

Rahul Gandhi began to unleash his great store of political wisdom in 2014, i.e., when he became a part of the Opposition party. Since then, he started believing that in order to counter Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rising popularity, he must aggressively criticise Modi. Ordinance brought by Congress in 2013 during the tenure of Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh that Rahul Gandhi publicly tore has now backfired him. 2013 Supreme court judgement, then an ordinance the Manmohan Singh-led government had brought to shield politicians convicted in criminal or corruption cases and Rahul Gandhi, then vice-president of the Congress, metaphorically tore away this same ordinance. By now, every citizen of this country is aware of this history. And hence I need not repeat it. Seeing Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Hum Kare So Kayda’ (what we do is a law) behaviour, I am distinctly reminded of his great grandfather Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru.

‘Aman ka zanda iss dharti par

Kisne kaha laharane na paye

Ye bhi koi Hitler ka hai chela

Maar lo saath jaane na paye!

Commonwealth ka daas hai Nehru

Maar le saathi jaane na paye….’

Alleging that renowned lyricist Majrooh Sultanpuri had made a dig at Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru through this poem, the government under the then chief minister of Bombay Province Morarji Desai had imprisoned him. The then Congress government had asked Sultanpuri to apologize for this poem. But since he had refused, he was imprisoned. He spent one whole year in jail. I guess, this example is sufficient to prove how subjective Congress’s belief in freedom of expression is.

The Congress that had openly strangled people’s freedom of thought and expression during the Emergency is now crying that the country’s democracy is dying. This is nothing but destiny against congress. People will also remember how during the Emergency, suspecting that the character in the movie ‘Aandhi’ was similar to Indiraji, that movie was banned. Now the supporters and intellectuals who are trying hard to clear Rahul’s image by criticising the court’s verdict, fail to realize that they are fighting a lost battle. People have seen Rahul Gandhi, his works and his ‘fathomless acumen’ for the last two decades. And hence, no matter how hard they try, they will not be able to glorify his image. Even if it is a futile attempt, unfortunately, Congress and its leadership have no option but to promote Rahul Gandhi at all times.

 

(Article Pre-Published in Times of India Online –27 March 2023)

Keshav Upadhye, Chief Spokesperson