New Delhi: The two-year jail term for Congress's Rahul Gandhi has generated a deafening silence from many opposition parties, indicating once again deep chasms ahead of next year's general election. The only ones to condemn it so far has been Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party and Congress allies Rashtriya Janata Dal, Tamil Nadu's ruling DMK, Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena faction and Sharad Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party. There has been no reaction from the Left, which allied with the Congress in Tripura, Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal United or even Congress's Jharkhand ally Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, and the National Conference.
Parties who do not see eye to eye with the Congress, maintained silence. There was no reaction from Trinamool Congress -- usually vocal in issues involving the opposition -- Akhilesh Yadav's Samajwadi Party, Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao.
Mr Gandhi was found guilty and sentenced to two years in prison today in a four-year-old defamation case over his remarks about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's surname. He was granted bail and given 30 days to file an appeal. He also faces disqualification from the Lok Sabha -- unless a higher court overturns the conviction or suspends his sentence.
During the campaign ahead of the 2019 general election, Mr Gandhi had apparently said, "How come all thieves have the common surname Modi?" A police case was filed shortly after on a complaint filed by BJP MLA and former Gujarat minister Purnesh Modi.
Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party -- not known to share a cosy relationship with the Congress -- was the first to come out in support of Mr Gandhi.
In a tweet, Mr Kejriwal made his position clear. "We have differences with the Congress, but it is not right to implicate Rahul Gandhi in a defamation case like this," his post read.
Towards evening, RJD's Tejashwi Yadav also tweeted his objections, but without naming Mr Gandhi.
"Get the opposition leaders raided by ED, IT, CBI, even if things don't work, get baseless cases done in different cities under a heinous conspiracy so that no core stone is left unturned in headline management. This is a matter of grave concern for the Constitution, democracy, politics and the country," read a rough translation of the Hindi tweet by Mr Yadav, who is currently being probed by the Central investigative agencies in a case connected to his father Lalu Yadav.
DMK's TR Balu said the verdict makes it clear that "freedom of expression is under threat". Mr Gandhi is an ally and he has not attacked any particular community, the party said. Later in the evening, Chief Minister MK Stalin dialled Mr Gandhi to express solidarity.
"It is in their (the BJP's) hand to award punishment… be it the Enforcement Directorate, the Central Bureau of Investigation or courts. They are all going in one direction which is inviting dictatorship and suppressing the voice of the opposition. But it will strengthen the voice of the opposition," said Sanjay Raut, senior leader of Uddhav Thackeray's Sena faction.
The Congress has called a meeting of the opposition parties tomorrow to discuss the situation. It will be held at 10 am tomorrow.