Attempts being made to indicate Indian democracy in crisis: Rijiju

Union Law and Justice Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Kiren Rijiju on Saturday claimed that calibrated attempts were being made to suggest to the world that the democracy and judicial system in India are currently in a state of crisis. Addressing an event in Bhubaneswar, the Union minister also spoke out against the recent "abuses" against judges on social media.

• Rijiju's remarks came days after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, during a lecture at Cambridge University in England, claimed that the democracy in India was under attack and numerous politicians, including himself, were under surveillance.
• Ahead of the upcoming general election, Congress has been on the offensive against the BJP over topics like the BBC documentary on Narendra Modi and the Adani Group-Hindenburg Research controversy.

While inaugurating a conference of the central government's counsels in the eastern states in Bhubaneswar, Rijiju stated, "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." "It is a deliberate attempt by some groups to malign the image of the country," he added.

Regarding judges being abused on social media platforms, the BJP leader stated that this was happening due to some people being unaware of how the Indian judiciary operates. "The judiciary must be far away from public criticism," said Rijiju. He also added that the issue lies with the same group that wants to push the judiciary to act as the opposition party.

On the topic of repealing outdated laws, Rijiju claimed that once the Parliament reconvenes, 65 redundant acts, including 41 appropriation acts and 16 amendment acts, are set to be repealed. "We are making efforts to repeal all obsolete and redundant laws," said the Union minister. He also revealed that "1,486 of such laws have been repealed" so far.

On Friday, Congress leader Sam Pitroda shared a video of Gandhi's lecture at Cambridge University from February 28. During his address on "Learning to Listen in the 21st Century," the former Congress president claimed that the Indian democracy was in danger and alleged that numerous opposition leaders were being spied on by using the Israeli spyware Pegasus.

"Indian democracy is under pressure and under attack. The institutional framework which is required for a democracy," Gandhi told the students during his address. "Parliament, free press, the judiciary, just the idea of mobilization - these are all getting constrained. We are facing an attack on the basic structure of democracy," the Congress leader added.

While explaining the key goal behind the Congress's 4,081km-long Bharat Jodo Yatra led by him, Gandhi said, "As the Opposition, it is very difficult to communicate with people when you have this type of an assault on media and on the democratic architecture." "So, we decided to go back to Indian history and culture," he added.