Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai.
Credit: PTI
Mumbai: A day after a lawyer hurled a shoe inside a courtroom towards Chief Justice of India Bhushan Gavai, his mother Dr Kamal Gavai said that while people have the right to protest peacefully, taking the law into their own hands can lead to anarchy.
Popularly known as Kamal Tai, the 84-year-old is the wife of late politician and former Bihar Governor Ramkrishna Suryabhan Gavai, fondly known as Dadasaheb Gavai. A veteran social activist, Dr Kamal Gavai, along with her daughter Kirti Gavai Arjun, condemned the attack in the strongest terms and urged people to follow the principles of Dr B R Ambedkar, the chief architect of the Constitution.
Hailing from Maharashtra, Justice Gavai is the first Buddhist and second Dalit to become Chief Justice of India.
“I condemn the attack on the Chief Justice. The Indian Constitution grants equal rights to all, but some people are taking the law into their own hands, behaving in a way that is disgraceful for the country and could spread anarchy. No one has the right to do such a thing. I urge everyone to raise their questions in a peaceful manner,” Dr Gavai said.
Her daughter Kirti Arjun said the incident was “disgraceful.”
“Justice Gavai has said he has ignored it — that shows his greatness and magnanimity. However, we must not ignore this. One has every right to protest, but only within the framework of the Constitution,” she said.
Meanwhile, Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi founder Prakash Ambedkar, grandson of Dr B R Ambedkar, also condemned the incident.
“I strongly condemn the disgraceful attack on the Chief Justice of India. If Indian society truly wishes to progress, it must shed its entrenched caste prejudices. Knowledge, wisdom, and leadership are not the exclusive domain of Sanatanis or so-called upper castes. The fanatic lawyer who attempted to hurl a slipper at the Chief Justice has indulged in anti-national activities,” he said, demanding that the lawyer be barred from legal practice and his licence permanently revoked.