Congress accuses BJP of playing ‘revenge politics’ with judiciary

The Congress party on Thursday accused the Modi Government of “unprecedented decision” to disregard the decision of the Supreme Court collegium to elevate Chief Justice of the Uttarakhand High Court KM Joseph to the Supreme Court and dubbed it ‘revenge politics’.

Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala’s comments on Twitter came after news reports that the government had on April 25 cleared the Supreme Court collegium’s recommendation of appointment of senior advocate Indu Malhotra to the Supreme Court, but had kept on hold the elevation Chief Justice KM Joseph.

Surjewala said, “PM Modi’s ‘revenge politics’ qua judiciary and ‘conspiratorial suffocation’ of Supreme Court exposed again. Justice Joseph is India’s senior-most Chief Justice. Yet Modi Government refuses to clear his elevation to SC as retribution for quashing presidential rule in Uttarakhand? Modi Government is a habitual offender of trashing ‘judicial integrity’ and ‘constitutional supremacy’ of institutions. In June 2014, they refused to clear noted jurist Gopal Subramaniam’s name for elevation to SC as he was a lawyer against Amit Shah & Co.”

Surjewala added that “Modiji shredded Parliamentary privileges and supremacy; road-rolled independent media; and that democracy’s last refuge ie Judiciary is now under most vicious attack ever. If the nation doesn’t rise in unison now, totalitarianism will stump democracy.”