On 26th March 2023, US House Representative Ro Khanna backtracked his earlier claims by saying that his grandfather did not resign opposing the emergency but opted not to contest an election after that. However, he said that his grandfather Amarnath Vidyalankar had written two letters to Indira Gandhi to register his disagreement with the emergency she imposed. Earlier, Ro Khanna had claimed that his grandfather – then MP – had resigned opposing the emergency.
How did the row start?
On Friday (March 24), US House Representative Ro Khanna stirred the hornet’s nest by making unsolicited remarks about the internal political affairs of India after Congress scion Rahul Gandhi was disqualified from Lok Sabha following his conviction in a criminal defamation case. In a tweet (archive), he claimed, “The expulsion of Rahul Gandhi from parliament is a deep betrayal of Gandhian philosophy and India’s deepest values.” The US politician further added, “This is not what my grandfather sacrificed years in jail for. Narendra Modi, you have the power to reverse this decision for the sake of Indian democracy.”
In a thread dissecting the unsolicited sermons of the US politician on Gandhian philosophy democracy, etc., ‘The Pamphlet’ wrote, “Though it seems as If Ro has forgotten that Amarnath Vidyalankar (his grandfather), an INC loyalist, was part of Indira Gandhi’s govt during the harsh period of emergency in India. He did not oppose the brutal atrocities on the Indian masses during the Emergency.”
Quoting this tweet, Ro Khanna tweeted, “It’s sad to see people maligning my grandfather who worked for Lala Lajpat Rai, was jailed in 31-32 and 41-45, and wrote two letters to Indira Gandhi opposing the emergency, leaving parliament right after. Attack me. Don’t attack India’s freedom fighters. And facts matter.”
In this tweet, he apparently claimed that his grandfather not only opposed the emergency but also quit the membership of parliament immediately.
Ro Khanna gets a lesson to learn from an Indian news portal
‘The Pamphlet’ came up with a researched reply in which it said, “Dear Ro Khanna, while we appreciate your reply, kindly note that the claimed fact of your grandfather resigning in protest of emergency is NOT registered anywhere. The website of Loksabha shows your grandfather’s name as one representing Chandigarh. Also, the Punjab Assembly compendium of profiles of MLAs is silent about his resignation. We do value and appreciate the struggle of all the freedom fighters, including your grandfather but this particular claim of ours is with respect to him continuing as MP while civil liberties were crushed during the emergency. His freedom fighter status doesn’t absolve him of his support of a regime that suspended civil liberties in India.”
‘The pamphlet’ added, “Your grandfather served on various parliamentary committees during 5th Loksabha and that too is well documented. We didn’t include any unverified claim despite coming across somewhere that your grandfather didn’t fight elections in 1977 so as to devote more time to his family following the death of his eldest son in an accident. At no point ever we discredited or disrespected your grandfather & our report was in response to your bizarre linking of a legal case decision to democratic freedom etc. Lastly, if you have any proof of your grandfather’s resignation, please send it directly to Lok Sabha Secretariat so that they may record it. Until then, our claim that your grandfather served in 5th Loksabha stands.”
‘The pamphlet’ also included all the relevant proofs supporting their claims in the tweet. In the next tweet ‘the Pamphlet’ wrote, “We do understand that you are a law graduate from Yale and hence must be aware of the basic difference between EXPULSION & DISQUALIFICATION. It should not be difficult for you to understand that Rahul Gandhi’s is a disqualification and not an expulsion as alleged by you. Also, his conviction under the law of the country and as confirmed by the Supreme Court is the causative event that triggered his disqualification- a fact that you completely ignored. Also, he is not the first lawmaker to have been disqualified under the said provisions and certainly won’t be the last until the law stays in its present shape and form.”
‘The Pamphlet’ added, “We are also sure that you are aware of the fact that it was Rahul Gandhi only who protested the Congress government’s move to amend the law in 2013. Had he allowed his own Congress Government to amend it then, he would not have suffered his disqualification. On your claim of us maligning your grandfather, please note that it was you who brought your grandfather into the discussion, following Rahul’s disqualification arising out of his conviction; and even cited his jail terms during the Indian freedom struggle. Following your claims, it becomes perfectly valid for us to remind you of the fact that your grandfather continued to remain a lawmaker during the most repressive regimes India ever saw.”
Ro Khanna takes a U-turn
After getting this detailed lesson from ‘The Pamphlet’, Ro Khanna stepped back. He said in a replying tweet that his grandfather did not resign during the emergency. He wrote, “He did not resign, but he did not seek re-election in 1977 for both family reasons and opposition to the emergency. He wrote two letters to Indira Gandhi opposing the emergency which should be part of the archives. The emergency obviously was a stain on Indian democracy.”
Ro Khanna’s maternal grandfather Amarnath Vidyalankar was a freedom fighter and a member of the Congress party. During the indepence movement, he largely worked under Lala Rajpat Rai, and a life member of the Servants of the People Society founded by Rai. During this time, he went to jail three times, in 1931–32, 1941–42 and 1942-1945.
He was a member of the First Lok Sabha (1952–1956) from Jalandhar, Third Lok Sabha (1962–1967) from Hoshiarpur and Fifth Lok Sabha (1971–1977) from Chandigarh. From 1957 to 1962, he was the minister of Education, Labor and Languages in the Government of Punjab. During his third term as MP, he chaired three parliamentary committees appointed by the government: committees to study and improve the Information and Broadcasting Department and the Department of Supply and Disposal and a committee to study the national library in Calcutta. Apart from these, he was a member of the Public Accounts Committee, the Estimates Committee and the Committee on Public Undertakings.
He decided not to contest the 1977 elections due to the death of his eldest son in a plane crash, and never returned to electoral politics, as he needed to take case of his family and the business. But he remained a member of the Congress (I) party till his death in 1985.
It is notable that although he is of Indian origin by lineage, Ro Khanna was born in the USA. Ro Khanna’s parents, father Vijay Khanna and mother Jyotsna Khanna had immigrated to USA, and Ro was born in 1976 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
He has been actively involved in US politics as a Democratic Party leader since 2016. As such, his interference in India’s internal affairs without fully understanding the political context has drawn the ire of Indians.
This is not the first time Ro Khanna has made unsolicited comments on internal affairs in India, he has done it earlier also. A brief account of his unnecessary adventures can be read here. Interestingly, he is a member of the Congressional Pakistan Caucass, apart from being a member of the India Caucass.
