美国国家公共电台 NPR--India's democracy is questioned when opposition leader is expelled from parliament

India's democracy is questioned when opposition¹ leader is expelled from parliament

Transcript²

NPR's Michel Martin speaks with Milan Vaishnav of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace about the state of democracy in India.

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

The expulsion of a key opposition leader from India's Parliament is raising questions about the strength of democratic institutions in the world's largest democracy. Rahul Gandhi was preparing to run against Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he was convicted on defamation³ charges and barred from next year's elections. Milan Vaishnav is the director of the South Asia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and he's with us now to tell us what all this means. Good morning. Thanks for joining us.

MILAN VAISHNAV: Thanks so much, Michel.

MARTIN: So first of all, is the expulsion of Rahul Gandhi from the ballot⁴ a done deal?

VAISHNAV: In Indian politics, there's no such thing as a done deal. Gandhi was convicted by a court in the state of Gujarat on charges of criminal defamation. The judge sentenced him to a two-year stint⁵ in jail, but he also delayed the onset⁶ of his sentence by 30 days to allow Rahul Gandhi to appeal. So we are expecting Gandhi to appeal, and he'll probably try first to obtain a stay on his conviction, which would allow him to temporarily retain his seat in Parliament. And then likely the next course of action would be to seek an appeal to overturn the entire conviction.

MARTIN: Well, let's just say for the sake of argument that it is a done deal. How could his absence from the ballot affect these upcoming elections?

VAISHNAV: Well, there is nothing stopping Rahul Gandhi or his family or people around him from continuing to campaign. In Indian politics, people have campaigned for elections from inside of jail cells, even when they haven't been let out on bail⁷. What I think it does is to make him front and center, which is actually probably a good matchup for the incumbent⁸, Narendra Modi, the current prime minister. Rahul Gandhi has gone head-to-head, toe-to-toe with Mr. Modi in the last two general elections, in 2014 and 2019, and both of those elections have resulted in the complete rout⁹ of the Congress Party. So the longer Rahul Gandhi is in the spotlight¹⁰, ironically, the better it is for the BJP.

MARTIN: Well, so here's the thing - Modi remains¹¹ extremely popular in India. Morning Consult puts his approval ratings at close to 80%. Do you have a sense that - whether this move against Gandhi could change that?

VAISHNAV: I really don't think so. I think Narendra Modi is genuinely popular. Rahul Gandhi suffers from a real problem of image, as somebody who is seen as a part-time politician, as somebody who doesn't have the same kind of political acumen¹² as Narendra Modi and someone who, frankly¹³, just doesn't have the heart for the rough and tumble of Indian politics. So I don't think in the larger scheme of things, the perception of Narendra Modi or Rahul Gandhi is really going to shift very significantly. I think what this means, though, is this is yet another element in the BJP's efforts, the ruling party's efforts, to really kind of minimize the Congress. Their goal - and they've stated this as such - is to have a Congress-free India, which means not just eliminating the party but, really, eliminating the leadership and their sympathizers.

MARTIN: Before we let you go, and apologies that this is a complex question for a short amount of time, but does this - what does this whole episode say about the state of democracy in India?

VAISHNAV: Well, I think what it tells us is that there is, really, shrinking space for opposition politics, shrinking space for dissent¹⁴ and the real consolidation¹⁵ of a kind of dominant¹⁶ party run by Mr. Modi. But it's important to point out that the law on criminal defamation that is plaguing Rahul Gandhi is a colonial-era law that all governments in India have used to their advantage. So Modi and the BJP have not had to invent any new tools. They're just implementing¹⁷ what's already on the books.

MARTIN: That's Milan Vaishnav. He's the director of the South Asia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Thank you.

VAISHNAV: Thank you.

1 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 defamation   

n.诽谤；中伤

参考例句：

• Character defamation can be either oral or written.人格诽谤既可以是口头的也可以是书面的。
• The company sued for defamation.这个公司因受到诽谤而提起诉讼。

4 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

5 stint   

v.节省，限制，停止；n.舍不得化，节约，限制；连续不断的一段时间从事某件事

参考例句：

• He lavished money on his children without stint.他在孩子们身上花钱毫不吝惜。
• We hope that you will not stint your criticism.我们希望您不吝指教。

6 onset   

n.进攻，袭击，开始，突然开始

参考例句：

• The drug must be taken from the onset of the infection.这种药必须在感染的最初期就开始服用。
• Our troops withstood the onset of the enemy.我们的部队抵挡住了敌人的进攻。

7 bail   

v.舀（水），保释；n.保证金，保释，保释人

参考例句：

• One of the prisoner's friends offered to bail him out.犯人的一个朋友答应保释他出来。
• She has been granted conditional bail.她被准予有条件保释。

8 incumbent   

adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的

参考例句：

• He defeated the incumbent governor by a large plurality.他以压倒多数票击败了现任州长。
• It is incumbent upon you to warn them.你有责任警告他们。

9 rout   

n.溃退，溃败；v.击溃，打垮

参考例句：

• The enemy was put to rout all along the line.敌人已全线崩溃。
• The people's army put all to rout wherever they went.人民军队所向披靡。

10 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

11 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

12 acumen   

n.敏锐，聪明

参考例句：

• She has considerable business acumen.她的经营能力绝非一般。
• His business acumen has made his very successful.他的商业头脑使他很成功。

13 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

14 dissent   

n./v.不同意，持异议

参考例句：

• It is too late now to make any dissent.现在提出异议太晚了。
• He felt her shoulders gave a wriggle of dissent.他感到她的肩膀因为不同意而动了一下。

15 consolidation   

n.合并,巩固

参考例句：

• The denser population necessitates closer consolidation both for internal and external action. 住得日益稠密的居民，对内和对外都不得不更紧密地团结起来。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• The state ensures the consolidation and growth of the state economy. 国家保障国营经济的巩固和发展。 来自汉英非文学 - 中国宪法

16 dominant   

adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因

参考例句：

• The British were formerly dominant in India.英国人从前统治印度。
• She was a dominant figure in the French film industry.她在法国电影界是个举足轻重的人物。

17 implementing   

v.实现( implement的现在分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• -- Implementing a comprehensive drug control strategy. ――实行综合治理的禁毒战略。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• He was in no hurry about implementing his unshakable principle. 他并不急于实行他那不可动摇的原则。 来自辞典例句