More than 300 lawyers criticise Kiren Rijiju, ask him to withdraw ‘anti-India gang’ remarks
NEW DELHI: More than 300 lawyers from across the country criticised the ‘anti-India gang’ remarks of Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju in an open letter on Wednesday, saying it was an “unwarranted attack” against retired judges. They demanded that Rijiju withdraw his comment.
“We, the undersigned lawyers practising in diverse courts around the nation, deprecate the unwarranted attack launched against retired judges of the Supreme Court by Union Law Minister Shri Kiren Rijiju, at a conclave telecast live by a media house. The allegations of anti-nationalism against people who have dedicated their lives to upholding the rule of law, and the naked threat of reprisals against them, marks a new low in the public discourse of our great nation,” the letter reads.
The letter referred to Rijiju’s statement made at the India Today Conclave in New Delhi on March 18 in which he had said that there were “three or four” retired judges who are part of an “anti-India” gang.
He referred to a seminar in which judges and senior advocates participated. “The topic of the seminar was ‘Accountability in Judges Appointment’ but the discussion [the] whole day was how [the] government is taking over the Indian judiciary,” Rijiju said.
“It is a few retired judges – maybe three or four – a few of those activists, part of the anti-India gang. These people are trying to make the Indian judiciary play the role of the opposition party. How can these people openly say the Indian judiciary (should) take the government head on?” he said.
Further, in a reply to a question on the action taken by the government in this regard, Rijiju said, “Agencies will take action as per the provisions of law. Nobody will escape. Those who have worked against the country will have to pay a price for that.”
The list of the 323 signatories include senior advocates Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Kapil Sibal, Arvind Datar, Iqbal Chagla, Janak Dwarakadas, Sri Hari Aney, Raju Ramachandran, Dushyant Dave, Indira Jaising, Rajshekhar Rao and Sanjay Singhvi.
The lawyers condemned the remarks of the minister by saying that the law minister “threatened” the retired Supreme Court judges and “transgressed all limits of constitutional propriety”.
Rijiju is sworn to uphold and bear true allegiance to the Constitution and as a minister of law and justice, “it is his duty to protect the judicial system, the judiciary, and the judges, both past and present,” the letter read.
