If one were to look closely at what various parties, including the Congress and the allegedly non-political pressure group Cockroach Janta Paty (CJP), have been saying or threatening, it seems more likely that it is the opposition that is a bigger threat to democracy.
On 12 October, the Congress party’s leader, Rahul Gandhi, sought a private meeting with Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant after leading a march towards the highest court. Though the CJI declined to meet his party on grounds of propriety, a Kerala Congress handle on social media site X directly asked for the CJI to resign if he was unwilling to deal with law-and-order issues. The tweet read: “Dear Surya Kant, if law and order is not your domain, resign now. We will find your replacement who can handle it.”
Though the tweet was deleted, the chances are it was always meant to be deleted after it was flagged by the media. Its purpose was probably to send a covert intimidatory message to the CJI at the precise time when party leader Rahul Gandhi was marching to the Supreme Court, ostensibly to demand the resignation of Gyanesh Kumar, even though the party knows that the Supreme Court has no such power to just remove a constitutional appointee like the CEC.
This is nothing but a not to subtle effort to intimidate a constitutional authority, the Election Commission of India (ECI). Whatever its failing, no sensible political party should be doing this.
On 10 October, leading another protest, Rahul Gandhi sought a meeting with Gyanesh Kumar (without any prior request to meet) along with 300 MPs, and that too in Parliament. Though no one says that 300 MPs were actually present, this demand to meet the Election Commission in the presence of several hundred vociferous MPs cannot but be seen as another effort to overawe the ECI with the help of large numbers.
Rahul Gandhi has also directly threatened the CEC, with the words used (in Hindi) tantamount to threats. Among other things, Rahul said: “Gyanesh Kumar, ghabraiye math, hum aapko chodenge nahin.” (Gyanesh Kumar, don’t worry, we will not spare you.”
If this is not a direct threat to the CEC, what is?
To make matters worse, Rahul Gandhi also promised that if he (Gyanesh Kumar) chose to resign and turn approver, obviously in order to implicate higherups in the Modi government, he may be spared. There was thus an inducement and a threat to a high constitutional authority, whose importance is only next to that of the higher judiciary.
So, in just a matter of days Rahul Gandhi has threatened or intimidated two of the highest constitutional authorities in the land. If this is about saving democracy and restoring the rule of law, one wonders what actually subverting democracy and rule of law would mean in a Rahul Gandhi government, if it ever comes to be.
Personally, I am no great fan of the judiciary, given its general tendency to pontificate and keep the judicial selection process within a small group of senior judges. But what is now being attempted by the opposition and forces inimical to the Modi government is a clear attempt to cow down two of the most important constitutional authorities in the country. That is a real threat to democracy.
R Jagannathan is an editor and the former editorial director at Swarajya magazine. He tweets @TheJaggi. Views are personal.
This article has been republished from the author’s personal blog. Read the original article here.
It is pure hypocrisy to hear moral lectures on ‘saving constitutional institutions’ from political quarters whose historical playbook relied on steamrolling those very institutions.
From the 1952 general election where Dr. B.R. Ambedkar was actively kept out of Parliament while electoral irregularities were ignored to the ruthless misuse of Article 356 over 50 times under Indira Gandhi to dismiss democratically elected state governments, political intimidation has been a part of the dynast’s culture. It’s legacy Khangressi behavior.
Marching mobs to pressure the judiciary and delegitimize constitutional watchdogs today will appeal to alcloseted supporters like an asok and a daisy boy of the world