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Journalism of Courage
The second leg of the Budget Session of Parliament kicked off on a stormy note Monday with the ruling BJP firing salvos at the principal Opposition Congress over Rahul Gandhi’s remarks during his recent UK trip that “democracy is under attack” in India. The Congress returned the fire, maintaining that Rahul was just showing the “mirror of truth”. With members of the two parties trading fireworks, which led to uproarious scenes , both the Houses were adjourned for the day.
While the BJP has accused Rahul of “defaming” India on foreign soil, the Congress has charged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had allegedly insulted India by making certain remarks during his visits to several countries.
Here is a look at some of the statements made by Rahul at various events during his nearly week-long UK tour.
In his speech at the Cambridge University’s Judge Business School on “Learning to Listen in the 21st Century” on February 28, Rahul made the following remarks, among other statements:
“Everybody knows and it’s been in the news a lot that Indian democracy is under pressure, is under attack, right. I’m an Opposition leader in India and we’re navigating that space. What’s happening, the institutional framework which is required for a democracy – Parliament, a free press, the Judiciary, just the idea of mobilisation, just the idea of moving around, these are all getting constrained. So we are facing an attack on the basic structure of Indian democracy in the Constitution. India is described as a Union of states and that Union requires a negotiation, requires a conversation so it’s slightly different than other countries….
“You’ve also heard of the attack on minorities, the attack on the press so you get a sense of what is going on now. The one way I like to think about it is that Indian democracy is a public good. Because it is by far the biggest democracy… At least 50 per cent of people who live in a democratic space live in India and so preserving and defending Indian democracy is more than just about India. It is actually about defending the democratic structure and the democratic system on the planet.”
During his interaction with the IJA in London on March 4, the Congress MP from Wayanad said the following:
“People don’t quite understand the scale of India and its democracy. So how would you react if democracy suddenly disappeared in Europe? You’ll be shocked and you would be like, oh my God, that’s a massive blow to democracy. Well, how would you react if something, a structure three-and-a- half times Europe suddenly went non-democratic. That’s happened already. That’s not something that is going to happen in the future. That’s already happened but there’s no reaction. And if we’re talking about Europe that’s the thing that shocks me…there’s no reaction. Of course there are reasons for there not being a reaction. There is sort of trade and there’s money and stuff like that but Indian democracy is a public good and if you’re looking at the democratic structure…It is the single most important public good…
“It’s three or four times the size of the United States in terms of numbers…same with regards to Europe… so the surprising thing is that the so-called defenders of democracy which are the United States, European countries seem to just be oblivious that a huge chunk of the democratic model has come undone which is the real problem. Frankly the Opposition is fighting that battle and it’s not just an Indian battle. It is actually a much more important battle… the battle for a huge part of the democratic people on this planet.”
During a discussion at the Chatham House think tank in London on March 6, Rahul said: “First of all this is our problem. It is an internal problem. It is an Indian problem and the solution is going to come from inside. It is not going to come from outside. However, the scale of Indian democracy means that democracy in India is a global public good. It impacts way further than our boundaries. If Indian democracy collapses, in my view, democracy on the planet suffers a very serious, possibly fatal blow. So it is important for you too. It is not just important for us. We will deal with our problem but you must be aware that this problem is going to play out at a global scale. It is not just going to play out in India and what you do about it is, of course, up to you but you must be aware that in what is happening in India, the idea of a democratic model is being attacked and threatened.”
At an event organised in the Grand Committee Room of the House of Commons by Indian-origin Labour Party MP Virendra Sharma on March 6, Rahul came across a faulty microphone and quipped, in response to a question on his experience of being an MP in India with his British counterparts: “Our mikes are not out of order, they are functioning, but you still can’t switch them on. That’s happened to me a number of times while I am speaking.”
“Demonetisation, which was a disastrous financial decision, we were not allowed to discuss. The GST we were not allowed to discuss. Chinese troops entering Indian territory we were not allowed to discuss. I remember a Parliament where there were vibrant discussions, heated debates, arguments, disagreements but we had a conversation. And, that’s frankly what we miss in Parliament. We have to use debates to fit in other debates. There is a stifling that is going on,” he said.
“Democracy in India is a global public good. India is big enough, where if democracy is weakened in India, it is weakened on the planet. India’s democracy is three times the size of the US and Europe and if this democracy crumbles, it will be a huge setback for democracy on the planet,” he also said.
