The world’s biggest democracy is becoming less free

The world’s biggest democracy has taken a serious hit. On March 24th Rahul Gandhi, leader of India’s Congress party and by far the country’s best-known opposition figure, was disqualified from parliament after a court sentenced him to two years in prison on what Mr Gandhi says is a spurious defamation charge. A son, grandson and great-grandson of prime ministers, he has vowed to appeal against his conviction, which was handed down by a district court in Gujarat, home state of Narendra Modi, India’s prime minister. Yet even if Mr Gandhi avoids prison, he may not clear his name in time to lead his party into the general election due next year.

The court ruling followed weeks of tussling between Mr Gandhi and members of Mr Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Mr Gandhi had repeatedly called for an inquiry into the relationship between Mr Modi and Gautam Adani, a billionaire tycoon whose business practices and closeness to power have come under scrutiny. In a series of speeches in Britain he also criticised the state of Indian democracy, prompting the BJP to block parliamentary business while demanding that Mr Gandhi apologise for supposedly insulting India abroad.