The lawyers said a “vested interest group” was trying to pressure the judiciary based on "frivolous logic and stale political agendas”.
File photos of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress MP Jairam Ramesh. (Supplied)
The BJP and the Congress were quick to jump on to a letter written by prominent lawyers to Chief Justice of India (CJI) Justice DY Chandrachud.
The lawyers alleged that a “vested interest group” was trying to pressure the judiciary and defame courts “on the basis of frivolous logic and stale political agendas”.
“Their pressure tactics are most obvious in political cases, particularly those involving political figures accused of corruption. These tactics are damaging to our courts and threaten our democratic fabric,” said their letter, dated Tuesday, 26 March.
The national parties on Thursday used these allegations to claim that the other was the “group”, especially in their efforts to score brownie points with the electorate ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
For the BJP, no less than Prime Minister Narendra Modi took up the cudgels. He took to X (formerly Twitter) and said in a post from his personal handle: “To browbeat and bully others is vintage Congress culture.”
He continued: “5 decades ago itself they had called for a ‘committed judiciary’ – they shamelessly want commitment from others for their selfish interests but desist from any commitment towards the nation. [sic]”
He added: “No wonder 140 crore Indians are rejecting them. [sic]”
To browbeat and bully others is vintage Congress culture.
5 decades ago itself they had called for a "committed judiciary" – they shamelessly want commitment from others for their selfish interests but desist from any commitment towards the nation.
No wonder 140 crore Indians… https://t.co/dgLjuYONHH
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 28, 2024
The “committed judiciary” barb was aimed at a policy of Congress leader Indira Gandhi when she was the prime minister.
In April 1973, she appointed Justice AN Ray as the CJI, superseding three judges who held seniority as part of this policy.
This and similar moves in connection with the judiciary would come in for such criticism that the Congress would eventually drop the policy.
The Congress response to Modi’s barbs came in less than half an hour, with the party’s general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh taking to X.
He said: “The PM’s brazenness in orchestrating and coordinating an attack on the judiciary, in the name of defending the judiciary, is the height of hypocrisy! [sic]”
He then proceeded to lay the groundwork to claim it was the BJP pressuring the judiciary.
He said: “The Supreme Court has delivered body blows to him in recent weeks. The Electoral Bonds Scheme is but one example. The Supreme Court declared them to be unconstitutional – and it is now proved beyond doubt that they were a blatant instrument of fear, blackmail, and intimidation to force companies to donate to the BJP.”
The Congress MP then invoked farmers and said: “Instead of giving a legal guarantee to MSP, the Prime Minister has given a legal guarantee to corruption. [sic]”
He concluded: “All that the Prime Minister has done in the last ten years is divide, distort, divert, and defame. 140 crore Indians are waiting to give him a befitting reply very soon. [sic]”
The PM's brazenness in orchestrating and coordinating an attack on the judiciary, in the name of defending the judiciary, is the height of hypocrisy!
The Supreme Court has delivered body blows to him in recent weeks. The Electoral Bonds Scheme is but one example. The Supreme… https://t.co/R00ZRdWa7S
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) March 28, 2024
(Edited by Arkadev Ghoshal)
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