Degrading judiciary: Opposition hits out at BJP over MPs’ remarks

The Congress on Sunday rejected BJP chief JP Nadda’s efforts to disown party MPs Nishikant Dubey and Dinesh Sharma’s controversial remarks on the Supreme Court, calling it a “damage control” exercise, even as key NDA allies remained tightlipped on the matter. The Congress said the BJP lawmakers’ remarks were aimed at undermining the judiciary.

BJP MP now targets Quraishi

BJP MP Nishikant Dubey on Sunday targeted SY Quraishi, saying he wasn’t an Election Commissioner but a ‘Muslim commissioner’, after the latter criticised the Waqf Act as a ‘sinister and evil plan of the government’. The BJP distanced itself from the remarks.

Dubey on Saturday blamed CJI Sanjiv Khanna for “all civil wars” in the country, saying Parliament “should be shut if the judiciary makes laws”. Sharma too opposed judicial overreach, stating no one could dictate Parliament or the President.

The controversy sparked by these remarks prompted Nadda to clarify that the BJP did not endorse such views. He also said he had instructed the MPs not to make such statements.

RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav came down heavily on the controversial comments, asserting that such statements undermined the dignity of the judiciary and warranted contempt proceedings.

Considering that Dubey is a Jharkhand MP, the JDU and the LJP (Ramvilas) — key NDA allies from neighbouring Bihar — remained silent on the controversy. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav also criticised the BJP MPs, noting that whatever the Lok Sabha MP from Godda (Nishikant Dubey) had said reflected the BJP’s thinking.

In a statement, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh questioned the lack of action against Dubey and Sharma, members of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, respectively, calling them “repeat offenders” used by the BJP’s top leadership to attack communities, institutions and individuals.

“The distancing of the outgoing BJP president from the atrocious remarks made by two BJP MPs on the Chief Justice of India carries little meaning. These MPs are repeat offenders when it comes to hate speech and are very often used by G2 to attack communities, institutions and individuals. The outgoing BJP president’s clarification is nothing but damage control. It will fool nobody. This is entire political science reflecting itself as entire political hypocrisy,” Ramesh said.

Ramesh has in the past used the term “G2” to refer to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.

“The outgoing BJP president is totally silent on equally unacceptable remarks on the judiciary that are continually made by one of its very distinguished appointees to a high Constitutional position. What does he have to say about these remarks? Does the BJP subscribe to them?” Ramesh said, in an apparent reference to Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar’s remarks on the judiciary acting as a “super Parliament”.

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