New Delhi: Congress today launched a fresh attack on Finance Minister Arun Jaitley for his remarks on NJAC Act, warning the government against embarking on a path of confrontation with the judiciary on the issue. Party’s senior spokesperson Anand Sharma dubbed as “unfortunate and deplorable” Jaitley’s unusually strong remarks against the Supreme Court’s reasoning for striking down the NJAC Act. He told reporters that it was “very wrong” for Jaitley to say that judiciary acted like “third chamber of the legislature” while quashing the Act to establish the National Judicial Appointment Commission (NJAC) for appointment of judges.
Claiming that in the last 16 months since the advent of the Narendra Modi dispensation there has been “systematic assault on the autonomy of institutions and rewriting of rules,” he said, there were “concerns” about Constitutional guarantees and funadmental rights of citizens.
“In the light of the changed situation, (our advice is) Jaitley, who is a senior advocate, will not to embark on a path of confrontation…not healthy for democracy,” he said. “Instead of insulting highest judiciary, he should focus more on his responsibility as India’s Finance Minister as economy is in a very sad state. It is a stuttering economy marked by rising debts and fall in exports for last 10 months.”
Besides, he told the government that the apex court has assured Parliament and the political leadership that their concerns on the collegium system will be heard with a view to bring reforms and transparency. Debunking the Prime Minister’s claim that he and his government has made “revolutionary transformation” of the economy, he said, actually they have given “pain, misery and shock to the people of India.”
Sharma said Government should also explain as to why India has become more indebted. Taking a dig at the government, he remarked that if prices of crude oil were not down globally, Indian economy would have been at present in the ICU. Jaitley had yesterday faulted the Supreme Court verdict for re-legislating collegium system. He had insisted that Indian democracy cannot be a “tyranny of the unelected” and to strengthen independence of judiciary, one does not have to weaken Parliamentary sovereignty.
“The Indian democracy cannot be a tyranny of the unelected and if the elected are undermined, democracy itself would be in danger,” Jaitley had said in a Facebook post titled ‘The NJAC Judgement – An Alternative View?’, which he termed as “personal views”.
