How ironic it is that India’s parliament (Lok Sabha) has disqualified senior opposition leader Rahul Gandhi after he was sentenced to two years in a defamation case by a court in Gujarat, prime minister Narendra Modi’s home state.

The Congress party has rightly described the court’s verdict as “erroneous and unsustainable” and pledged to fight his disqualification “both legally and politically.”

It is however interesting to note that the Congress president Kharge has not described this development as an act of political vindictiveness to penalise Rahul Gandhi for his recent successful countrywide tour (from Kanyakumari to Kashmir) through which he is said to have sent a strong message across that democracy is facing immense danger in the country under the protracted rule of the BJP.

Rather the Congress chief has said that the action against Rahul Gandhi is a consequence of his demand for a probe by a joint parliamentary committee to investigate allegations against the Adani Group.

Needless to say, Adani Group has been powering BJP or its fortunes for the past several years. To Sangh Parivar’s chagrin, Billionaire Gautam Adani’s rapid downfall in recent weeks and months has sparked renewed scrutiny on his close ties with prime minister Modi and his party.

What is more interesting to note is that global financier-philanthropist George Soros has already attracted BJP’s ire for predicting that Adani’s woes would loosen the Sangh Parivar’s grip on power. The corporate-government nexus is now facing an unprecedented test in the country’s history.

R. P. Nayyar (Dubai)

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023