NEW DELHI: Congress on Tuesday accused the Modi government of lying that it was not a party to the case in which the
Supreme Court put checks on implementation of the
SC/ST Act, demanding that it apologise to the nation.
Deputy leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha Anand Sharma said law minister
Ravi Shankar Prasad had sought to distance the Centre from the court ruling by telling a lie that it had nothing to do with the case.
"The government was very much a party. The government was represented. The government did not argue the case. The government endorsed (the judgment) by not telling the court that it cannot dilute the law. So, the government is a willing party to what has happened," Sharma along with spokespersons
Randeep Surjewala and Shaktisinh Gohil told reporters, distributing copies of court documents which showed that notices were issued to the Centre.
Sharma wondered how PM Modi could maintain silence when his ministers were misleading the country with their false claims. According to the Congress leaders, the detailed judgment proved that the Centre did not argue to protect the SC/ST Act but made concessions which were akin to a conspiracy to kill the law that provided a shield to Dalits against discriminatory actions.
They pointed out paragraphs in the judgment where the Centre agreed that 'anticipatory bail' could be given in cases found to be prima facie untrue.
Surjewala said the SC had on November 17, 2017, issued notice to the attorney general since the issue involved interpretation of a central law.
