Indian-American Congressman Ro Khanna has criticised the disqualification of senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi from the Lok Sabha on 24 March, claiming it is a “deep betrayal of Gandhian philosophy and India’s deepest values.” Gandhi’s expulsion followed his conviction in a defamation case, and he is now barred from contesting polls for eight years, unless a higher court stays his conviction and sentence. Khanna said: “This is not what my grandfather sacrificed years in jail for.” The Co-Chair of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian-Americans directed a tweet to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asking him to “reverse this decision for the sake of Indian democracy.”
