Indian American politician Ro Khanna faced criticism on social media after condemning Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s suspension from the Lok Sabha a day after Rahul Gandhi was convicted in a defamation case in 2019.
While Ro Khanna stated that this is not what his grandpa sacrificed years in jail for, he was told that his grandfather, Amarnath Vidyalankar, was an Indira Gandhi supporter during the Emergency.
“Btw, wasn’t your grandfather the one who supported Indira Gandhi on Emergency? Always stood for fascist decisions?” The Kashmir Files director Vivek Agnihotri tweeted.
Reacting to the trolling, Ro Khanna said, ‘ it’s sad’ to see people ‘maligning’ his grandfather.
“It’s sad to see people maligning my grandfather who worked for Lala Lajpat Rai, was jailed in 31-32 and 41-45, and wrote two letters to Indira Gandhi opposing the emergency, leaving parliament right after. Attack me. Don’t attack India’s freedom fighters. And facts matter,” he said.
“The expulsion of Rahul Gandhi from parliament is a deep betrayal of Gandhian philosophy and India’s deepest values,” Indian-American Congressman Ro Khanna had said in a tweet after the news of the Congress leader’s disqualification came out.
“This is not what my grandfather sacrificed years in jail for,” Khanna said. Khanna represents Silicon Valley in the US House of Representatives.
Khanna, who is the Co-Chair of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian- Americans, has sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s intervention on this issue.
“You have the power to reverse this decision for the sake of Indian democracy,” Khanna said in another tweet.
The disqualification will bar 52-year-old Gandhi, a four-time MP, from contesting polls for eight years unless a higher court stays his conviction and sentence.
Meanwhile, George Abraham, vice-chair of the Indian Overseas Congress, USA, termed Gandhi’s disqualification as a sad day for democracy in India.
“It is a sad day for democracy in India. By disqualifying Rahul Gandhi, Modi sarkar is ringing the death knell for the right to free speech and freedom of Indians everywhere,” Abraham said.
“Bringing a frivolous court case against a remark in the heat of a political campaign is shameful and not on par with the spirit of the Constitution regarding freedom of expression,” he added.
