Unthinkable happens... Has Rahul Gandhi developed 'cold feet' after his bravado and repeated anti-Modi and at times anti-India outbursts?

 “I would respond (to Russia) similarly to what the BJP did. We (Congress) would be responding in a similar way (to the Russia-Ukraine conflict)," -- this is the 'unthinkable'. 

This remark is not from a Modi-bhakt like the blogger. This statement is neither from likes of Ghulam Nabi Azad or even Congress-turned-neo BJP neta Himanta Biswa Sarma! None other than Rahul Gandhi has said so and that too in 'overseas' ! 

Is it a course correction after going overboard when he called Muslim League - a 'secular party' or after he mocked at the Hindu tradition of doing 'pranam'? 

Blogger 

Nevertheless what has been stated is good.  

Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi stated at the National Press Club in Washington (on Thursday, June 1); “I would respond (to Russia) similarly to what the BJP did. We (Congress) would be responding in a similar way (to the Russia-Ukraine conflict). Because India has that sort of relationship with Russia and that can’t be denied. Our policy would be similar".  

This statement is surprising and has raised eyebrows because earlier Rahul Gandhi used to claim India's External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar, a career diplomat, did not understand China. 

Moreover, during his ongoing  US trip, Rahul had mocked at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the ritual of 'Pranam' the latter had conducted during the inauguration of the New Parliament Building. Showing disrespect to culture and Hindu tradition, yet again Rahul had compared that to 'lying down' and ridiculously said - "Aren’t you happy that I am not lying down?" 

Rahul Gandhi's remarks were in reference to PM Modi's prostration - a good old Hindu and Indian tradition ! 

Jaishankar

BJP MP Mahesh Jethmalani flays Rahul for 'Muslim League secular' comment...

"Rahul Gandhi is either naive, intellectually challenged or politically dishonest. The English definition of the word “secular” is “not connected with religious or spiritual matters”. Therefore, any party which defines itself in terms of a religion or a religious community cannot be secular but proclaims itself as communal or sectarian. 

A party styling itself as the Indian Union Muslim League or the All India Muslim League is explicitly non-secular. If it’s manifesto proclaims sectarian goals this only corroborates it’s avowed sectarianism," - he tweeted.

Rahul Gandhi 

 Whether Rahul Gandhi is displeased or not; India under PM Narendra Modi today enjoys unique and respectable status as an ally of both the US and Russia as the Russia-Ukraine war has crossed one-year. The United States has stated that it would welcome any effort to end the war as long as it meets Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy’s objectives.

India has repeatedly called for diplomacy to end the Russia-Ukraine war multiple times at UN meets and also otherwise. 

During a meeting with Russian president Putin at the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in September 2022, Mr Modi grabbed headlines when he told Putin that “today’s era is not an era of war”. 

The Russian leader also responded by saying he knows India’s position on the conflict and “your concerns that you constantly express”.

Notably, Ukraine president Zelenskyy has put forth a series of demands for a peace accord, the primary of which is that Russia should withdraw all its troops from Ukraine’s territory. The ownership of the Crimean Peninsula, a disputed region that Russia annexed in 2014, is also a point of argument between the two nations, reports said. 

In December last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held his fourth round tele talk with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and both the leaders discussed on India’s support on the 10-point “peace formula” Zelensky had proposed during his recent US visit. Russia-Ukraine conflict had started on Feb 24, 2022.

Modi and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met on the sidelines of G-7 at Hiroshima last month and yet again both the leaders grabbed headlines.

Now the Law Commission and the debate on Sedition

Elsewhere, Congress virtually pressed panic button. Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi, a lawyer himself, said: “In a terrible, tragic, and treacherous development, the Law Commission has recommended that Section 124A of the IPC should not only be retained, but also made more harsh.” 

The remarks came close on the heels of Law Commission of India recommending that the 153-year-old colonial era law on Sedition ought to be retained and also amended suitably to bring clarity to its interpretation and usage. 

The non-bailable offence, which carries a maximum punishment of life imprisonment or up to three years in jail, is currently on hold due to a continuing interim order of the Supreme Court.  Activists and jurists have alleged it is often misused to muzzle dissent. 

The Commission suggested amending Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code to align it with the Supreme Court's 1962 verdict in the Kedar Nath Case.

The Law Commission of India insisted that “repealing the legal provision can have serious adverse ramifications for the security and integrity of the country”. Instead, the Commission favoured amending Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code (sedition law) “so as to bring about more clarity in the interpretation, understanding and usage of the provision”.  

According to the Commission, headed by former Karnataka High Court chief justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, Section 124A should be amended to align it with the Supreme Court’s 1962 verdict in the Kedar Nath Case, which underlined that the presence of a pernicious tendency to incite violence is a precondition to invoke the sedition clause, and that the penal provision cannot be used to stifle free speech.

The sedition law in India can be traced all the way back to the 1800s.

Originally part of Section 113 of the Draft Penal Code of 1837-39, which was codified by Thomas Macaulay, the provision on sedition was incorporated into the IPC in 1870 in Section 124A, a decade after the code was made operational.

Since then of course the Section 124A has gone through several changes in 1937, 1948 and 1950.

Congress leader Singhvi said, “In total, 21 sedition cases were filed against journalists. Since 2018, they have been arrested for reportage on the farm laws, Covid-19, the Hathras gang rape, citizenship and for being critical of the government" and added that 27 sedition cases were filed against those who protested against the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 and the National Register for Citizens. Eight cases were filed against farmers protesting the now revoked farm laws.