Manmohan Singh was not involved in the impeachment motion, clarifies Congress       

Terming Manmohan Singh’s refusal to sign the impeachment petition ‘absolutely false’, senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal said the party did not involve the former Prime Minister.

“We did not involve Manmohan Singh intentionally as he is an ex-PM,” said Congress leader Kapil Sibal. “The party has tried to create a broad consensus among Opposition parties. However, there are many parties in the opposition camp which did not sign the petition,” said Sibal.

Addressing a press conference in the Constitution club of India on Friday, Sibal said that seven opposition parties led by the Congress met Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu and submitted a notice for an impeachment motion against the Chief Justice Dipak Misra on the grounds of misbehaviour.

Sibal stated that as many as 71 members of the Rajya Sabha have signed the petition which is more than the required numbers. “Out of 71 members of the Rajya Sabha, 64 are the current members of the Rajya Sabha,” he added.

To bring an impeachment motion against CJI, the upper house needs signature of 50 members only. “When the judges of the Supreme Court themselves believe that the judiciary’s independence is under threat, democracy is in peril,” said Sibal. Alluding to the functioning of the office of the Chief Justice of India, Sibal asked, “Should the nation stand still and do nothing? The choice was not easy because either way, repercussions are serious”.

While Sibal denied that Manmohan Singh was against the motion, a source claimed the move has divided the party. Another leader Salman Khurshid is said to be against the move. He was reported by media as saying that he was “not privy” to discussions on the impeachment.

“Impeachment is too serious a matter to be played with frivolously on the grounds of disagreement with any judgement or point of view of the court,” Khurshid was quoted as saying.

Earlier, a section of media had reported that that five senior leaders including Manmohan Singh, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, P Chidambaram, Veerappa Moily and Manish Tewari had refused signing the impeachment petition.