Scenes of chaos unfolded at the heart of India's capital this week as police set up barricades and roughed up hundreds of political workers and lawmakers protesting the expulsion of Rahul Gandhi from India's seat of democracy - its parliament.
Members of India's largest opposition party, the Congress, gathered in front of Delhi's iconic Red Fort to protest against the disqualification of Gandhi - an issue that has drawn rare and unanimous condemnation from a majority of the country's opposition parties.
Slogans calling for democracy to be protected rang in the air as did chants against prime minister Narendra Modi. Demonstrators sat in front of several police vehicles carrying detained party workers. "Jab jab Modi darta hai, police ko aagey karta hai (whenever Modi is afraid, he uses the police to crackdown on dissent)," shouted protesters as police used force to clear the way.
"This is not a fight for Rahul Gandhi. This is [a] fight for saving the Indian constitution," says Congress worker Mathura Prasad Khushwaha, while trying to reason with the police as they tried to detain him. "It will affect not just me. It will affect you and your children. We are fighting for their rights too," he says from the window of the police vehicle he was pushed into.
Gandhi lost his seat in the lower house of parliament last week after a court found him guilty of defamation over his remarks about the "Modi" surname. Indian parliamentary rules say a member loses their seat if they are convicted of a crime and sentenced to two or more years in prison.
"Why all the thieves, be it Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi or Narendra Modi, have Modi in their names?" Gandhi had said during a rally in the southern Karnataka state in 2019 while referring to a business tycoon, a former Indian Premier League chief, and the Indian prime minister respectively.
Esta historia es de la edición April 01, 2023 de The Independent.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 8500 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición April 01, 2023 de The Independent.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 8500 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
King and Queen shed tears at D-Day commemorations
William joined Charles and Camilla at the anniversary events
Why low-polling Lib Dems could take dozens of seats
When this election is over, there will be much attention on the new government, the plight of the opposition, and the prospects for the nation.
'Stitch-up of the worst kind'
Tory chair is put on shortlist of one to ensure he gets seat
PM may regret his tax claim after Treasury rubbishes it
James Bowler, the most senior civil servant in the Treasury, may have just hammered the final nail into a misfiring Tory general election campaign.
Sunak accused of lying as watchdog probes tax claim
Rishi Sunak's hopes of pulling off a surprise victory in the general election appeared to have unravelled yesterday on another day in which the Tory campaign was beset by a series of crises.
Has Farage Turned This Into The 'Immigration Election'?
Nigel Farage has called for an "immigration election" after becoming leader of Reform UK and deciding to stand as the party's candidate in Clacton. The former Ukip and Brexit Party leader proposed that net migration, which stood at 685,000 last year, be reduced to zero.
Hunter Biden's Drug Habits Under Spotlight In Gun Trial
Federal prosecutors yesterday painted Joe Biden's son Hunter as a man whose dark habits ensnared loved ones and who knew what he was doing when he lied on federal forms to purchase a gun in 2018.
India's Election Leaves Modi With A Diminished Mandate
Narendra Modi's apparent failure to win an outright majority in India's general election will spark conflict within his party and limit his mandate to carry out sweeping reforms in a historic third consecutive term.
Middle England Dilemma Is A Step Into The Unknown
There have been 77 England matches since Trent Alexander Arnold debuted in 2018. If he had played in them all, he would be level on caps already with Terry Butcher, wedged between John Terry and Tom Finney.
Modi Secures Historic Third Term But Loses His Majority
India's PM must rely on BJP allies to form an administration
