Opposition calls for cleanup of judiciary, accuses PM Modi of attempting to repress democracy

NEW DELHI: The political opposition used the sensational allegations made by four senior-most Supreme Court judges against Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra to demand a clean-up of the judiciary and to launch an attack on the ruling party.
Endorsing the Justices' demand for protecting the institution of Supreme Court to safeguard democracy, the Left, Trinamool Congress, the Samajwadi Party and Dalit leader and Gujarat legislator Jignesh Mevani each came out in support of the comments made by the SC judges.

The CPM Polit Bureau said the judges raised important issues that have a bearing on the institution of the Supreme Court and said the "integrity and independence of the judiciary, particularly the Supreme Court, is a vital pillar of the Constitution and non-negotiable. It is to be hoped that all such issues will be resolved keeping in mind the principles of democratic functioning and transparency regarding the highest court of the land."

West Bengal chief minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, on the other hand, voiced her "anguish" over the happenings in Supreme Court on Friday and said the development made people sad as citizens. Mamata also said the "extreme interference" of the Centre in the functioning of the judiciary was "dangerous" for democracy, but did not elaborate.

"We are deeply anguished with the developments about the Supreme Court. What we are getting from the statement of the four senior Hon'ble judges of Supreme Court about the affairs of the court makes us really sad as citizens," Banerjee said in a statement in Kolkata.

"Judiciary and the media are the pillars of democracy. Extreme interference of central government with judiciary is dangerous for democracy," she added.

Gujarat MLA and freshly-minted Dalit icon Jignesh Mevani also hit out against the voices that questioned the claims made by the Supreme Court judges. Tweeting his opinion on the matter, Mevani said, "If these four judges had ruled in favour of Triple Talaq or Ram Mandir, 'Bhakts' and media would have made demi-Gods of them. But these judges did not do that. They exposed the corruption in the judiciary and said how Modi repressed democracy. How will their character assassination not happen?"

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, on the other hand, made a more nuanced comment on the sensation created by the allegations levelled by the SC judges. Tweeting an unattributed poem soon after the SC controversy broke, Akhilesh made an oblique reference to the Justices as statues carrying the scales of justice, who rarely spoke outside of their courtrooms, but had finally found a voice to articulate the problems within. He said, "Lohe ke ped harey honge, tu gaan prem ke gaata chal, nam hogi ye mitti zaroor, aasoon ke kan barsaata chal. Bejaan yantr-vicharit goongi, moortiyan ek din bolengi, moonh khol khol sabke bheetar shilpi, tu jeebh bithata chal."