Just when the fortunes of the Opposition seemed to be looking up with the BJP tending to go on the back foot, the Congress has set the cat among the pigeons. Rank myopia and poor judgement have led Congress president Rahul Gandhi to rake up the issue of impeaching the Chief Justice of India, Dipak Misra, on grounds that are patently petty and ill-thought-out.
It would indeed be difficult to find a better example of a party putting a foot in its mouth proverbially. It has created an issue for the impending elections in states and the Centre which would only serve to halt the tide of anti-incumbency against the Narendra Modi government.
A handful of people, who had axes to grind, sought to drive a wedge between judges, to influence public opinion and to nurture seeds of discord. It was an act of great betrayal of the spirit of the Constitution and a shocking portrayal of malicious intent.
Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu’s unambiguous rejection of the demand to allow a motion to initiate impeachment proceedings against the CJI was no surprise at all. What surprised many was that such a document as that was poorly conceived and ill-researched to an appalling degree. That it was pursued by the Congress and six allied parties was itself shocking considering that the move had a support base that woefully lacked the numbers to push it through.
That six other parties succumbed to the Congress show of immaturity including the NCP, the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party shows how blinded they were by the prospect of being marginalised by the BJP in next year’s parliamentary elections. They would realise to their cost what irreparable damage they have done to their cause of displacing Prime Minister Modi’s government.
There are clear signs that the vice-president applied his mind and thereby covered his flanks. He consulted an array of legal brains and constitutional experts before arming himself with a decision. By deciding to challenge his decision in the Supreme Court, the Congress and its friends are only worsening their alienation from informed public opinion.
It is indeed difficult to contest Venkaiah Naidu’s observations while rejecting the Opposition’s move to bring forth an impeachment motion against the CJI on grounds of “absence of credible and verifiable information” on proved “misbehaviour or incapacity.” Justice Dipak Misra had been appointed CJI during UPA rule and just because some of his decisions were unpalatable for the Congress, he cannot be deemed to have misbehaved.
It is not without significance that in a party which is distinguishable from others by traits such as abject surrender and sycophancy, some key men chose to distance themselves from the party’s depraved tactics in the style of those jumping out of a sinking ship. These included former prime minister Manmohan Singh, and prominent former ministers Chidambaram, Veerappa Moily and even Salman Khursheed who otherwise have no love lost for the BJP.
As for Sonia Gandhi, she chooses to look the other way when her son wobbles and fumbles. A new convert to the Opposition, Chandrababu Naidu of the Telugu Desam, who spares no opportunity to damn the BJP also decided to break ranks, seeing the utter stupidity of the Congress action and the expediency of taking a different stand from the Congress and its allies.
If, in the circumstances, the BJP is grinning from ear to ear for the Congress having given them a readymade poll plank, it can only be ascribed to the rank bankruptcy of ideas and muddle-headedness that Rahul Gandhi represents in the Congress party.
The farther the Congress and its allies go in pressing for Justice Dipak Misra’s removal, the more they would sink into quicksand. The next step would be to explain away an electoral defeat in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections as a consequence of the Election Commission’s partisan outlook, assaulting the fair name of another key institution of democracy.
That this attitude would sow seeds of doubt in many minds is beyond doubt. Yet, it would be foolhardy to see all demerit in one side and merit in the other. The BJP and Prime Minister Modi need to be more accommodative too and need to reach out to the Opposition rather than contributing to the rot that is setting in with each successive session of Parliament.
Also, while appeasement of a section of Muslims was a tool for electoral dividends in the hands of the Congress, it is shocking how the BJP excludes the principal minority community from all electoral contests without batting an eyelid. Modi’s ‘sab ka saath, sab ka vikas’ is an attractive slogan but there is danger in alienating the Muslims from the mainstream.
There is still time for the Congress and its allies to backtrack. With Justice Misra all set to retire, it can declare impeachment a non-issue citing his retirement.
Case law has made it amply clear that the prerogative of assigning cases to apex court judges rests with the CJI. Any bickering on that is unnecessary and superfluous because it has no legs to stand on.As noted jurist Fali Nariman has pointed out, those who sought to impeach the Chief Justice of India and contributed to driving a wedge among apex court judges have set a horrible precedent. The apex court must now get down to serious business to fulfil the aspirations of people from the judiciary.
The biggest stumbling block in the process of restoring the prestige and majesty of the highest court in the land is the huge backlog of cases in various levels of the judiciary. That is an issue that needs to be addressed on a war footing.
Kamlendra Kanwar is a political commentator and columnist. He has authored four books.
