New Delhi:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a strong attack on the Congress party today after hundreds of lawyers and some bar association across the country wrote to the Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, expressing concerns over attempts to undermine the judiciary’s integrity using political and professional pressure.
“To browbeat and bully others is vintage Congress culture. Five decades ago, they itself had called for a ‘committed judiciary’ – they shamelessly want commitment from others for their selfish interests, but desist from any commitment towards the nation,” PM Modi said in a post on the microblogging website X.
“No wonder, 140 crore Indians are rejecting them,” PM Modi said.
To browbeat and bully others is vintage Congress culture.
5 decades ago itself they had called for a “committed judiciary” – they shamelessly want commitment from others for their selfish interests but desist from any commitment towards the nation.
No wonder 140 crore Indians… https://t.co/dgLjuYONHH
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 28, 2024
PM Modi’s comments came after over 600 lawyers, including Harish Salve and Bar Council chairperson Manan Kumar Mishra, wrote to Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, alleging that a “vested interest group” is trying to put pressure on the judiciary and defame courts, especially in cases of corruption involving politicians.
Yesterday, the All Manipur Bar Association had also written to Chief Justice DY Chandrachud highlighting the need to speak out against “underhanded attacks” on the judiciary. The bar association in the letter had said it was extremely concerned about recent trends where vested interest groups were trying to defame the courts with “frivolous logic” and “stale political agendas”.
In the other letter by over 600 lawyers, they said the tactics used by the vested interest group “are damaging to our courts and threaten our democratic fabric.”
Chief Justice Chandrachud’s leadership is crucial in these “tough times” and the Supreme Court should stand strong, they said, adding it is not the time to maintain dignified silence.
The letter also targeted a section of lawyers without naming them and alleged they defend politicians by day and then try to influence judges through the media at night.