Opinion The Express View: Contest Rahul’s despairing speech on democracy but calling for his suspension from Parliament over it is undemocratic

In a parliamentary democracy, it is a responsibility of the government to ensure the smooth functioning of the House, which is the highest forum of accountability and debate. The spectacle unfolding over the past few days, in the second leg of the Budget session, is, therefore, unbecoming and unseemly. Union Ministers have led the charge, members of the ruling party have joined in — they are demanding that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi apologise to the House for critical remarks on India’s democracy he made on a recent visit to London. They say he discredited India, its institutions, sought help from “foreign powers to save Indian democracy.” Certainly, the BJP has the right to interrogate Gandhi on his statements on a democracy under siege, and to criticise their dire tone and tenor. But to paint them as an “insult to India” and as the “language of anti-India forces” — or as a notice under Rule 223 by a BJP MP says, “a clear calculated attempt to bring to Parliament and highest democratic institutions the disrepute…” — is, quite simply, overblown. It is also counter-productive. This government claims to have made India more self-assured on the global stage and its serial electoral successes show, at the very least, that these claims do resonate with its voters. Surely, Indian democracy cannot have such a thin skin at home while striking a more powerful, vibrant pose abroad.

It would be a travesty if the noises within the BJP on taking action against Gandhi are taken forward. The party has approached Speaker Om Birla on forming a special committee to look into the possibility of suspension — it must abandon the move immediately. It may well calculate that in a year of important state elections and in the run-up to the 2024 polls, it would draw political advantage from cornering Gandhi on an issue where the Modi government is seen to be on sure ground. After all, from its foreign minister batting on the front foot at global fora to the nation seizing the opportunities of G20 presidency in a time of uncertainty deepened by the war in Ukraine — India is asserting itself as a more deft world player with increasing success. In this context, Gandhi’s statements of a democracy “in danger” do sound too apocalyptic, apart from constituting intellectual and political dead-ends. And yet, by inflating its indignation and outrage, and by using it to stall debate, the BJP and its government would only be scoring a self-goal, apart from showing a narrowness of spirit that is ill-fitting in an open and argumentative democracy.

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The Modi government has frequently paid homage to Parliament and underlined its importance. When the Opposition makes accusations of the muting of microphones and expunging of portions of speeches, it is the government that cuts a sorry figure, not its intended target. Contest Rahul’s despairing speech on democracy, but calling for his suspension over it is undemocratic.