The Congress Party was led by Gandhi’s father, grandmother, great-grandfather, and great-great-grandfather. He has long been derided as an immature child who is unfit for the leadership position that has been bestowed upon him by virtue of his name.
Source: Live LawGandhi was recently expelled from India’s Parliament, which begs the question: why, since he is such a benefit to the BJP? At first appearance, the action appears to have been taken out of the authoritarian playbook, with a strongman leader using the legal system to stifle and marginalised a potentially threatening opponent.
The BJP leadership is regarded as having complete control over India’s political narrative and committing few unforced mistakes. Gandhi’s disqualification would seem superfluous and counterproductive. Gandhi’s fiery comments in Parliament criticising the administration for having too much ties to the under siege Adani Group are already being blamed by the Congress and the larger opposition for his disqualification. Several opposition parties have expressed their support, many of which harbour deep mistrust of the Gandhi-led Congress.
Liberal democracies other than India are also experimenting with illiberalism. Its vastness and diversity make it unique. In a nation where judges are appointed on their own, there are more than 20,000 of them, it is challenging to impose top-down tyranny.
On the other side, some right-leaning authorities might be inspired to test out their most radical and partisan ideas because they feel empowered by the current political climate. Others will only be assured that their careers won’t suffer if they engage in blatantly partisan ways, even to the point of undermining their own offices.
Source: The PrintThis poses a threat to the BJP’s central leadership, which includes the prime minister. Bottom-up illiberalism, which makes India appear more like a banana republic in the mould of Hungary or Russia than the mother of democracies it claims to be, complicates Modi’s relationships with Western leaders, which he has carefully tried to cultivate over the past ten years.
Modi is already incredibly well-liked, so his administration scarcely needs to raid international news organisations or imprison opposition politicians to quiet them. In fact, it would make more sense for Modi and other BJP leaders to oppose these populist excesses, which do them little good.
Despite two decades of criticism, Modi’s reputation has endured and even improved. Without a certain, the Indian state’s authority does not need to be used against his critics. This harms Indian institutions, lowers the standard of Indian discourse, and discredits India’s ambitions to be a world leader.
What do you think about this?Share your views in the comment section below.
