New Delhi: Dark day for American democracy unfolded when Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the US capitol building to stop the confirmation of the winning of Joe Biden as the next President of the United States of America.
The chaos which consumed Washington left several dead and many injured. Unprecedented scenes of violence which reeled-out in Washington DC have tainted the rich history of one of the largest and the oldest democracies in the world.
Ex diplomat Achal Malhotra, in an interview with ETV Bharat, said, “the violent attack on Capitol Hill by Republicans to stall the constitutional process of formalizing the election of Democrat Joe Biden is unprecedented in the history of the oldest democracy in the world.”
“The incident is bound to be recalled later as a black spot on the history of democracy in the USA. It has rightly been condemned by the leading democracies of the world including India. Arguably the American society at the moment is divided as never before. However, the use of power to reverse the outcome of democratically contested elections cannot be justified.”
“The reluctance on the part of Trump to gracefully transfer power is sending wrong messages to the global community as it raises fundamental question marks on the desirability of Democracy as a system of governance,” he further added. Hopefully, the current situation would not degenerate into a civil war-like situation in the divided American society, he added.
Shocked by the clashes in Capitol Hill, world leaders issued sharp reactions. Prime Ministers, Presidents in the world have urged Trump and his supporters to accept the result of the US Presidential election and urged for a peaceful and orderly transfer of power.
“Distressed to see news about rioting and violence in Washington DC. The orderly and peaceful transfer of power must continue. The democratic process cannot be allowed to be subverted through unlawful protests,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted as dark moment encapsulate the nation.
British Prime Minister Borris Johnson urged for a ‘peaceful and orderly’ transfer of power in the U.S. He tweeted, “Disgraceful scenes in the U.S Congress. The United States stands for democracy around the work and it is now vital that there should be a peaceful and orderly transfer of power.”
Condemning the attack, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said, “Canadians are deeply disturbed and saddened by the attack on democracy in the United States, our closest ally and neighbour. Violence will never succeed in overruling the will of the people. Democracy in the US must be upheld-and it will be.”
Also Read: US Capitol clash: Dozens of pro-Trump protesters remain on the streets of DC after curfew
Speaking to ETV Bharat, Professor Harsh V Pant, King's College London and foreign policy expert at Observer Research Foundation, called incidents in Washington 'extremely unfortunate for several reasons.'
“Firstly, it is an extremely delicate moment in American domestic politics and the road on which Mr Trump was travelling had to culminate in something like this.
His immaturity in handling his defeat, inability to keep personal agenda aside and to rise to the occasion of reconciling divided nation and his inability to respect institutional imperatives of democracy, has resulted in the present chaos. American democracy will find it very hard to recover from it,” Professor Pant said.
He underlines that this will have grave implications on American foreign policy as the authoritarian states like China and Russia will become powerful. “They would be more condescending of America and reluctant to acknowledge American leadership. And for the rest of the world which is either democratic or is moving towards democracy, this is a reminder of how fragile institutions can be if the leadership at the top is not interested in investing in the institution”, Professor Pant added.
The US Presidential election 2020 had been a chaotic one ever in the history of US politics. Finally hours after US Capitol siege, Washington witnesses a dramatic endgame to the battle as the Joint session of US Congress accepts Electoral College result, which clears the way for Joe Biden to become President of the United States.
President Trump immediately released a statement pledging an "orderly transition" but suggested he would remain in frontline politics, amid speculation that he may run again in 2024.
“Even though I disagree with the outcome of the election, and the facts bear me out, nevertheless there will be an orderly transition on January 20th,” Trump said.
"I have always said we would continue our fight to ensure that only legal votes were counted. While this represents the end of the greatest first term in presidential history, it's only the beginning of our fight to Make America Great Again!"
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Statement by President Donald J. Trump on the Electoral Certification:
— Dan Scavino🇺🇸🦅 (@DanScavino) January 7, 2021 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="
“Even though I totally disagree with the outcome of the election, and the facts bear me out, nevertheless there will be an orderly transition on January 20th. I have always said we would continue our...
">Statement by President Donald J. Trump on the Electoral Certification:
— Dan Scavino🇺🇸🦅 (@DanScavino) January 7, 2021
“Even though I totally disagree with the outcome of the election, and the facts bear me out, nevertheless there will be an orderly transition on January 20th. I have always said we would continue our...Statement by President Donald J. Trump on the Electoral Certification:
— Dan Scavino🇺🇸🦅 (@DanScavino) January 7, 2021
“Even though I totally disagree with the outcome of the election, and the facts bear me out, nevertheless there will be an orderly transition on January 20th. I have always said we would continue our...
On being asked what message does the political chaos in the US sends to the world, Prof Pant further said, “for the world at large, this is a moment to ponder and think about how democratic institutions need to be constantly nurtured and how personal agendas need to be kept aside if democracy is to succeed."
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...fight to ensure that only legal votes were counted. While this represents the end of the greatest first term in presidential history, it’s only the beginning of our fight to Make America Great Again!”
— Dan Scavino🇺🇸🦅 (@DanScavino) January 7, 2021 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="
">...fight to ensure that only legal votes were counted. While this represents the end of the greatest first term in presidential history, it’s only the beginning of our fight to Make America Great Again!”
— Dan Scavino🇺🇸🦅 (@DanScavino) January 7, 2021...fight to ensure that only legal votes were counted. While this represents the end of the greatest first term in presidential history, it’s only the beginning of our fight to Make America Great Again!”
— Dan Scavino🇺🇸🦅 (@DanScavino) January 7, 2021
"For India which is a relatively new democracy compared to the US, which is the world oldest, I think we have done remarkably well. We have had a peaceful transition of power in almost all cases in India, but we have to be careful as many questions the veracity of electoral results in this country, as the opposition continues to discredit some of the ‘democratic underpinnings’ of this country," he explained.
