Ahead of Modi's participation in Biden's democracy summit, US says closely watching Rahul Gandhi case

The United States is "closely watching" the conviction and sentencing of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in India and his disqualification from the membership of Parliament, a spokesperson of President Joe Biden’s administration said in Washington DC.

With Biden set to host a “Summit for Democracy” and Prime Minister Narendra Modi likely to virtually participate in it, the US not only stated that it was keeping tabs on the case involving opposition leader Rahul Gandhi in India but also underlined that the two nations had shared commitments to democratic values, including to upholding freedom of expression.

"So respect for the rule of law and judicial independence is a cornerstone of any democracy, and we’re watching Mr Gandhi’s case in Indian courts, and we engage with the Government of India on our shared commitment to democratic values – including, of course, freedom of expression," said Vedant Patel, the principal deputy spokesperson of the US State Department.

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He was responding to a question from a journalist, who enquired about the Biden Administration’s views on the disqualification of Rahul Gandhi from the membership of the Lok Sabha. The journalist particularly drew the attention of the US State Department spokesperson to the fact that an opposition leader had been disqualified from membership of parliament in India – one of the countries the US had invited to take part in the Summit for Democracy.

Biden will host the second edition of the Summit for Democracy on Wednesday. Modi is among leaders who will participate in it virtually.

“In our engagements with our Indian partners, we continue to highlight the importance of democratic principles and the protection of human rights, including freedom of expression, as a key to strengthening both our democracies,” said Patel.

Asked if the Biden Administration had any engagement with Rahul Gandhi, Patel said that it was normal and standard for the US to engage with members of opposition parties in any country where it had bilateral relationships. “But I don’t have any specific engagement to read out.”

The US State Department recently published a report on the human rights situation around the world. It cited instances of human rights violations in India, including alleged unlawful and arbitrary killings, purported attempts to curb freedom of press and persecution of religious and ethnic minorities. The US Commission for International Religious Freedom too in the past published reports, expressing concerns over the persecution of minorities in India.

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The Biden Administration has been conveying to the Modi Government its concerns over the perception in the US about backsliding of democracy in India.

Biden’s Secretary of State Antony Blinken had on April 12 last year said that the US was "monitoring some recent concerning developments in India, including a rise in human rights abuses by some government, police, and prison officials". He had followed it up on June 2 last year stating that India, the world’s largest democracy and home to a great diversity of faiths, had seen rising attacks on people and places of worship.

When Jaishankar had hosted Blinken for the G20 Foreign Ministers’ meeting in New Delhi earlier this month, the US side had again taken up the issue of perception about democratic backsliding in India. The US State Department had last month stated that it had been closely monitoring the survey conducted by the Income Tax authorities at the offices of the British Broadcasting Corporation in India.

The raids had been conducted just a few weeks after the broadcaster had drawn flak from the government and the ruling BJP for airing a documentary titled “India: The Modi Question”. The first part of the documentary had focussed on the communal riots in Gujarat in 2002 and the role of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had then held the office of the chief minister of the state. It had claimed that a probe by the diplomats of the UK after the 2002 communal clashes in Gujarat had found that Modi, who had been the chief minister of the state then, had been “directly responsible” for the “systematic campaign of violence”.