The unnecessary controversy raised by some opposition parties over Prime Minister Narendra Modi attending the Ganapati Puja at the residence of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud is worrisome. More than 30 hours of political sabre-rattling took place over a merely 30-second video and a mountain was sought to be made out of a molehill. It is surprising that some opposition leaders have questioned the neutrality and integrity of the Chief Justice of India. A courtesy visit of the PM to the Chief Justice’s residence was sought to be made a topic of controversy and the question of judicial independence was raised.
The first party to raise the flag was Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena, because its case is pending in the Supreme Court. Is a mere courtesy visit of the PM going to make our Chief Justice biased?
Kapil Sibal, himself a politician and also the president of Supreme Court Bar Association, first praised the CJI describing him as “a man of great personal integrity”, but in the same breath, he remarked that “no public functionary should publicize a private event…if there is a gossip around it, it is not fair to the institution.”
BJP leaders reminded how when Dr Manmohan Singh was Prime Minister, the then CJI used to visit the PM’s iftar parties. Bar Council of India chairman and BJP MP Manan Kumar Mishra said, there are some lawyers who always try to create controversies out of nothing. Let me make one thing clear. All those who have questioned the Prime Minister’s visit to the Chief Justice’s residence to attend the Ganapati Puja, are doing great injustice to Chief Justice Chandrachud. Those slyly alleging that PM Narendra Modi has done some “setting” with the CJI, or has told him something secret, probably do not know that the Prime Minister need not wait for an opportunity to attend a Puja in order to speak to the CJI.
There are several such opportunities when the PM and Chief Justice attend public functions together. On the question, why the Prime Minister made the video public, I can only say that had the PM not made the video public, there would have been a hue and cry about a secret meeting with the CJI. The same persons would have then asked why the PM did not make any video public, when he makes every video of his interaction public.
Is it Constitutionally or legally unacceptable for the Chief Justice of India to invite the Prime Minister to his residence? Was it a midnight secret rendezvous over which much hue and cry is being made. Those trying to create an issue over this courtesy visit are actually trying to exert pressure on the Chief Justice. These people know that the Chief Justice will not comment on this issue because he has to uphold the dignity of his chair.
The Prime Minister is not going to react because he has his limitations. On the other hand, these people had a field day on social media. But look at their history. Almost every Chief Justice used to do this. These are the people who used to label the Chief Election Commissioner as pliable, and question the reliability of EVMs, even before the LS election results were announced.
The same people had questioned the claims of our Armed Forces. These are the people who repeatedly try to discredit the media. These are the persons who portray themselves as self-appointed agents of integrity and try to defame and intimidate others. Time has come to give such people a strong reply instead of ignoring them.
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