Message Being Sent That Indian Democracy...: Rijiju After Rahul Gandhi's Remarks At Cambridge
Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju said that attempts are being made to tell the world that Indian judiciary and Indian democracy is in crisis.
New Delhi: Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju has said that attempts were being to tell the world that the Indian judiciary and the democracy were in crisis and added that the wisdom of judges could not be put into public scrutiny, reported PTI.
Rijiju was speaking at the inauguration of a conference of the Centre's counsels in the Eastern states on Saturday.
He said, "Indian judiciary cannot be questioned, especially the wisdom of judges cannot be put into public scrutiny."
"At times, calibrated attempts are being made from both inside and outside the country to tell the world that the Indian judiciary is in crisis. A message is being sent to the world that Indian democracy is in crisis. It is a deliberate attempt by some groups to malign the image of the country," he added, as quoted by PTI.
Rijiju said that no campaign with hidden motives can succeed in defaming India and its democratic setup. He noted that the US may stake claim to be the oldest democracy, but India truly is the "mother of democracy".
His remarks came after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said that Indian democracy is under attack and several politicians, including himself, are under surveillance during a lecture at Cambridge University.
During his address, as per PTI, Gandhi listed five key aspects of the alleged attack on Indian democracy -- capture and control of media and judiciary; surveillance and intimidation; coercion by federal law enforcement agencies; attacks on minorities, Dalits and tribals; and shutting down of dissent.
Addressing the matter of judges being abused on social media, Rijiju said that this was happening as some people were not aware of how the Indian judiciary functions.
He said, "It is not a good sign when the judiciary is subjected to some kind of criticism. The judiciary must be far away from public criticism." He further added that the problem lies with the same group, which wants to force the judiciary to play the role of the opposition party.
"The Indian judiciary will never accept it. I am sure the judiciary will resist the forceful attempt to make it play the role of opposition. This cannot happen," he said.
On the appointment of judges, Rijiju maintained his stand saying that it is because of the Constitution that the government is of the view that the appointment of judges cannot be done by judicial orders.
He said that the opinion of the executive and the judiciary may differ at times as everybody cannot have the same observation.
Giving a hint of the Centre’s plan in the next sitting of Parliament, Rijiju said that 65 redundant laws have been proposed to be repealed in the next session. He said that the Centre has so far removed 1,486 redundant laws.
According to PTI, he said the government wants to make India safe and secure, and so, it has to make stringent laws.
He also addresses the matter pertaining to the demand for a permanent bench of the high court in western Odisha. The law minister said that the Centre was ready to give its approval if the state government submits a complete proposal.
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