Donald Trump's indictment: India should express public concern over worrying erosion of judicial independence in US

On Monday, the US State Department spokesperson at a regular press briefing said that America is closely “watching” the court case of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, and proceeded to impart a mini lecture on the respect for “rule of law”, “judicial independence” and “freedom of expression”. Vedant Patel, the spokesperson, said that “we engage with the Government of India on our shared commitment to democratic values” and “in our engagements… we continue to highlight the importance of democratic principles and the protection of human rights.” Shorn of diplomatese, Washington was telling New Delhi that the Rahul Gandhi case is a litmus test for India’s democracy and independence of its institutions, and India should uphold the rules and principles that have been set for democracies around the world. A few days later German foreign ministry issued a statement that was similar in nature but more abrasive in tone. The implication being that India’s diplomatic credentials are subject to validation from US-led western liberal democracies in perpetuity. The “rules” and “principles” in question are mostly set by the US, with an inbuilt understanding that Washington reserves the right to amend and bend these rules without facing any moral opprobrium. Take the Rahul Gandhi case that has been under scrutiny. The Congress leader was convicted and sentenced to two years of prison by India’s independent judiciary in a defamation case. The court in Gujarat promptly granted him a bail, suspended the sentence for 30 days and allowed him to appeal the verdict in a higher court. Gandhi and the battery of lawyers at his disposal are free to move higher courts and either stay or overturn the verdict. Once the sentence has been announced, however, in accord with The Representation of the People Act, 1951, the law that governs elections in India, any lawmaker who has been sentenced to two years in prison stands immediately disqualified from Parliament. It is the rule of law, a fact acknowledged by a Congress leader who is also an eminent lawyer. The facts of this case have largely been misrepresented in western media, with certain publications calling Gandhi’s automatic disqualification “an expulsion” and implying that the BJP-led government at the Center had taken the unlawful step — in reality a judicial verdict delivered by an independent court which triggered a law that has already seen multiple lawmakers getting disqualified — as an act of vengeance to end the “political threat” posed by Gandhi to the BJP. Anyone with even a cursory knowledge of Indian politics would know how ridiculous this argument is. Gandhi’s disqualification actually ‘harms’ the BJP. Under his leadership, Congress has crashed to abysmal lows in consecutive general elections. The grand old party has almost been wiped out from national stage. It is fighting to stay relevant and jostling with regional parties for influence, many of whom do not want a Gandhi-led Congress to take centrestage in the battle against BJP. The uninspirational Gandhi has lost his Parliamentary seat in the family bastion of Amethi in Uttar Pradesh in the last general elections, and remained an MP only because he simultaneously chose to contest from a ‘safe seat’ in Wayanad, Kerala. In response, US lawmaker Ro Khanna, a Democrat, has in all seriousness called for prime minister Narendra Modi to interfere in the verdict delivered by India’s judiciary and reverse the decision “for the sake of Indian democracy”. US State Department’s reaction on Monday adds to the worrying narrative emanating from the US. Now, consider the developments on Friday in the US regarding the Donald Trump case. Trump, a Republican, is the first US president in history to face criminal charges. He has been indicted for paying hush money in 2016 to an adult movie star. The indictment has been carried out by Manhattan district attorney (DA) Alvin Bragg, a member of the Democratic Party who was elected in 2021. DAs in America are elected officials. The case against Trump stands ostensibly on the argument that he falsified internal business records to conceal the hush-money payment. It is so flimsy that even staunch Trump critics sound hesitant about the indictment. Republican Party members have unified in favour of Trump, who plans to run for the presidential elections again in 2024, and have called the Democrat prosecutor’s action a “weaponization of the American legal system for political ends”, an egregious “abuse of authority” that will erode American people’s faith in the judicial system. Unlike Gandhi, who is a proven political dud, Trump is a former US president, commands a huge, dedicated voter base and is expected to win the Republican primaries and challenge Biden for presidency. Rating agencies see approval rates going neck-to-neck between Trump and Biden at this stage. All this calls into question whether an elected official of the Democratic party, who is also a prosecutor, is trying to nail the former president through trumped up charges and finish him as a political threat. It turns out that billionaire activist-investor George Soros, who is a stated critic of Trump, has funded Bragg’s campaign. Ron DeSantis, the Republican governor of Florida, said on Twitter that the “Soros-backed Manhattan District Attorney has consistently bent the law to downgrade felonies and to excuse criminal misconduct. Yet, now he is stretching the law to target a political opponent.” In other words, the charge that the Biden administration is implying against India, applies much more explicitly and accurately to itself. Trump’s indictment is being widely seen as a political witch-hunt led by a “rogue, left-wing, radical prosecutor” — in the words of a Republican lawmaker — that could “end up being an indictment of America’s criminal justice system as well.” Under these circumstances, India’s ministry of external affairs should take note of the backsliding of democratic norms in the US and the worrying erosion of judicial independence, and express its concerns through public channels. As the world’s largest democracy, India should also work actively as the rule keeper, not just a rule-taker. Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.