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The Congress may have helped the Modi govt by trying to impeach the chief justice

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By moving the impeachment motion, Congress & opposition parties may have opened themselves to the same criticism as the NDA – that of undermining institutions.

New Delhi: Opposition parties, especially the Congress, may have scored a self-goal by moving a motion for the impeachment of CJI Dipak Misra Friday.

The move may make the seven parties vulnerable to allegations of attempts to “demean, control and embarrass the judiciary”, a charge the Opposition has repeatedly flung at the NDA government.

If the chairman of the Rajya Sabha, rejects the motion, the principal opposition party will have to approach the Supreme Court to challenge his decision, and this may lead to “chaos”: This was the argument made by senior Congress leader and noted lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi before he signed the notice to seek the CJI’s impeachment. He was the last to sign it, and did so “as an obedient soldier of the party”, said a leader familiar with the deliberations in the Congress on the issue.

Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was “never asked” to sign it because the pro-impeachment group was of the view that he would never lend his support to a move that would undermine an institution like the judiciary. Former finance minister P. Chidambaram didn’t sign it either, ostensibly because he is a “litigant” in the Supreme Court. A senior party leader, however, said Chidambaram also had reservations about the move. ThePrint sought his comment but he didn’t respond.

What the Congress hopes to achieve

Even if the VP accepts the notice for impeachment, the Opposition parties are unlikely to have the requisite numbers in either house of Parliament to get it passed.

Asked what, then, the Congress sought to achieve by targeting the CJI, a senior leader replied, “How could we keep quiet about corruption charges? Can’t watch one-sided judgments one after another.”

Congress leaders believe that if the notice is accepted, the CJI may find it untenable to continue in office. Even if it is rejected, they say, he will feel the “pressure”. Ask Congressmen about political dividends of such pressure tactics, and they become vague, frenetically listing cases before the CJI-headed bench.

One of them is the Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri masjid case, the verdict for which could have a serious bearing on the 2019 general elections.Pray, how would an impeachment motion affect these cases? Only opposition leaders would know.

Until recently, the common refrain in Congress circles was that the NDA government was wreaking havoc on all of India’s institutions, be it the judiciary, Parliament or the Election Commission, and that people always punished such administrations.

Several Opposition leaders didn’t mind citing the fall of the Indira Gandhi government after Emergency to buttress their argument.

In that case, on Friday, the seven Opposition parties may have helped the ruling dispensation, by becoming a party in its alleged undermining of the judiciary.

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4 COMMENTS

  1. With people like Kapil Sibal and Ghulam (whose, anyway?) Nabi Azad taking leave of the normal good sense, expected of them, the Congress seems to have lost all crediblity in its pursuit of any and all excuses in its desperation to remin in the limelight and pursuit of loyalty to the corrupt relics of the dynasty.

  2. News reports on 20 April , 2018 said that a group of Congress-led 7 Opposition Political Parties submitted motion notice to Rajya Sabha Chairman alleging some instances of misbehavior on the part of CJI, seeking his impeachment. Such a notice against CJI is first of its kind and nation is believed to have been shocked by these developments while there appear to be weak chances or no likelihood of success of the motion , it is believed by some legal experts. However , this development could be read between the lines in this Vedic astrology writer’s alert predictions in article – “ Astrologically speaking , some highlights for India in coming year 2018”- published at theindiapost.com , simultaneously at wionews.com last year on 19 October , 2017. The related text in the article reads as :-
    “ (1) Mid-March to 31 May 2018. …………..Those involved in decision making or governance of big enterprises or think tanks in the Govt , could be prone to errors or fault-lines or controversies giving rise to need for revision or amendment”.
    “ (3) The year 2018 looks to be bringing to focus themes of political , religious or spiritual nature for heightened or sharp analysis or discussion. Such analysis or discussion could also pave way for new enactments or judicial pronouncements having far reaching significance or value ……..”.
    Further , this writer had , over a month and half past from now , opined that the period from 8 April to 5 May , more so from 8 April to 20 April , in 2018 , called for more care and appropriate strategy in India as some allegations against some present or former power wielding people could be in focus.
    http://www.windowtonews.com/news.php?id=95576&cat_id=7&p=&search=

  3. One is afraid there will be no winners, only losers, in this first of its kind development. To be fair, the Congress has ruled India – and many states – for more than fifty years. It is not a banana republic political party, notwithstanding its depleted strength in the Lok Sabha. The last thing it would do is to seek to impeach a CJI without sufficient cause. The January press conference robs its opponents of the right to trash its move.

  4. A bunch of jokers without any meaningful political narrative and hell bent on creating chaos. Hopeless. Just tell us how and why the citizens will choose this rowdies to form the next govt at the centre.

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