Mahua Moitra apparently criticized Chandrachud for hosting Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
New Delhi:
TMC MP Mahua Moitra on Friday accused the BJP-led Center of “bleeding the Constitution through a thousand cuts” and said it is crystal clear that the political executive has “systematically eroded democracy” over the past decade.
Participating in a debate in the Lok Sabha on 75 years of the Constitution, Moitra asserted that the need of the hour is to ensure that the idea of India survives in its purest form.
For a significant part of her speech, the Trinamool Congress MP pointed her guns at former Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, without naming him, saying that what is alarming the opposition is that some members of the higher judiciary power seem to do their best to compromise. the independence and integrity of the country's constitutional courts.
“The outgoing CJI was eloquent about the manner in which the right to bail was granted during his tenure. From A for Arnab to Z for Zubair, his alphabets (sic) appear to have been abbreviated as it did not include G for Gulfisha Fatima, did not include H for Haney Babu, did not include K for Khalid Saifi, did not include S for Sharjeel Imam, You for Umar Khalid and countless others,” she said.
Moitra said the former CJI made it a point to state that the Supreme Court is not meant to act as a political opposition. “We in the opposition do not need the Supreme Court to do our work. We are not asking to do that, but what concerns us is that some members of the higher judiciary appear to be doing their best to compromise independence and integrity. of our constitutional courts,” she said.
Moitra apparently also criticized Chandrachud for hosting Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his residence during the Ganapati festival.
“I don't think the framers of our Constitution ever imagined a scenario in which judges would rely on private conversations with the god to write judgments rather than on objective logic, on reasoning, on the law and on the Constitution,” it said TMC MP.
In a message to the CJIs past and present, she said: 'It is for you not to worry about your personal legacy, it is for you not to take directions from the god, it is for you not to be a private family function turns into a circus on television. with a political executive. The Constitution is your only god, the Constitution should be the only 'atithi' (guest) that should be in your home as your 'deva' (god) leaves no legacy our basic sovereign rights will only be remembered.” Moitra alleged that a large number of people feel that the Constitution is in “danger” and asserted that as responsible public representatives, it is imperative that it is put to the test and checked whether this is fear mongering.
Citing a professor's three broad tests to check whether the political executive is constitutionally responsible, she said the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) cannot take power in a manner that takes away the rights of others.
“This ruling party, when confronted with this accusation, uses only one defense – what about Mrs (Indira) Gandhi's emergency? Yes, that was a frontal attack on democracy, there are no questions about that, but we saw it for what it was. This administration's modus operandi over the past decade has been indirect and insidious, a gradual and systemic attack,” she said.
The TMC MP alleged that the Modi government has consistently tried to erase the distinction between the ruling party and the state by undermining and enshrining all mechanisms that pursue executive accountability. “It kills our Constitution with a thousand cuts.” Moitra flagged electoral malpractices such as disenfranchisement and biased campaign financing that gave the ruling party an unfair advantage.
Disenfranchisement has reached epic proportions in India, she claimed. Another aspect is the largely targeted exclusion of a “hated minority” by a biased majority state, creating a whole group of second-class citizens whose rights are less equal than those of others, Moitra said.
This government has introduced a “discriminatory” citizenship law that openly contradicts the right to equality before the law, she added.
Targeting the BJP-ruled states, Moitra said these governments are competing with each other in 'bulldozer justice', where houses, mostly belonging to minorities, are demolished without due process of law.
Moitra also attacked the BJP government for abrogating the provisions of Article 370 of the Constitution in Jammu and Kashmir and said the right to freedom of expression of the people of the region has been suppressed.
She also termed investigative agencies such as the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) as 'extortionist departments' of the government.
“In a fabricated case against me, the CBI is wasting valuable time in searching for a scarf and lipstick given to me by a friend,” she said.
On the independence of the Election Commission, Moitra said: “Since this government came into office, two ECs have inexplicably resigned before the end of their terms.” Other institutional bodies have also been seriously compromised, Moitra added.
“It is crystal clear that this political executive has systematically eroded democracy over the past decade. It fails spectacularly on all three tests of constitutional responsibility. Our constitution is bleeding from a thousand cuts,” she said.
Moitra also read out poems by Hilal Fareed and Faiz Ahmed Faiz to hit out at the Modi government.
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