WORLD NEWS | US watches Rahul Gandhi case in Indian court: Official

WASHINGTON, March 28 (PTI) — The United States is eyeing the court case of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, an official said, while watching Washington continue to engage with India on democratic principles and mutual commitment to protecting human rights, including speech free.

Gandhi was sentenced to two years in prison by a Surat court on March 23, 2019 in a criminal defamation case for his statement “Why all thieves have the last name Modi”. A day later, he was disqualified as a senator from the date of his conviction in the case.

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“Respect for the rule of law and an independent judiciary are the cornerstones of any democracy. We are following Mr. Gandhi’s case in Indian courts, and we engage with the Indian government about our shared commitment to democratic values, including freedom of expression,” State Department deputy spokesman Vedante Patel told reporters at a news conference on Monday.

“In our engagement with our Indian partners, we continue to emphasize the importance of democratic principles and the protection of human rights, including freedom of expression, as key to strengthening democracy in our two countries,” he said.

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Responding to a question, Patel said it was normal and standard for the United States to engage with members of opposition parties in any country with which it has bilateral relations.

India’s opposition parties stepped up their offensive against Narendra Modi’s government and marked a “black day for democracy” on Monday, three days after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was disqualified from the Senate.

The Bharatiya Janata Party condemned the unrest in parliament created by opposition parties and accused Congress of resorting to “low politics” to justify Gandhi’s remarks against the OBC community.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)