Bleeding Constitution from a thousand cuts: Mahua Moitra slams govt

New Delhi: TMC MP Mahua Moitra accused the BJP-led Centre on Friday of "bleeding the Constitution from a thousand cuts" and said it is crystal clear that the political executive has "systematically eroded democracy" over the last 10 years.

Participating in a debate in the Lok Sabha on 75 years of the Constitution, Moitra asserted that the need of the hour is to ensure that the idea of India survives in its purest form.

For a significant part of her speech, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP trained her guns on former chief justice of India D Y Chandrachud, without naming him, and said what troubles the opposition is that some members of the higher judiciary appear to be doing their best to compromise the independence and integrity of the country's constitutional courts.

"The outgoing CJI waxed eloquent on how the right to bail has been granted during his tenure.... From A for Arnab to Z for Zubair, his alphabets seem to be abbreviated because it did not include G for Gulfisha Fatima, did not include H for Haney Babu, did not include K for Khalid Saifi, did not include S for Sharjeel Imam, U for Umar Khalid and countless others," she said.

In an obvious reference to Chandrachud, Moitra said the former CJI made it a point to state that the Supreme Court is not meant to act like a political opposition.

"We in the opposition do not need the Supreme Court to do our job. We are not asking it to (do so) but what troubles us is that some members of the higher judiciary appear to be doing their best to compromise the independence and integrity of our constitutional courts," she said.

Moitra also apparently criticised Chandrachud for hosting Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his residence during the Ganapati festival.

"I do not think the framers of our Constitution ever imagined a scenario where judges would rely on private conversations with the god to write judgments rather than on objective logic, on reasoning, on law and on the Constitution," the TMC MP said.

In a message to the CJIs of the past and present, she said, "Yours is not to worry about your personal legacy, yours is not to take directions from the god, yours is not to have a private family function turned into a televised circus with a political executive. The Constitution is your only god, the Constitution should be the only 'atithi' (guest) that should be at your home as your 'deva' (god). Attention-seeking divas do not leave legacies, upholders of our basic sovereign rights will only be remembered."

Moitra claimed that a large number of people feel that the Constitution is in "danger" and asserted that as responsible public representatives, it is imperative that it is put to test and checked if this is fear mongering.

Citing a professor's three broad tests to check if the political executive is constitutionally accountable, she said the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) cannot usurp power in a way that takes away the rights of others.

"This ruling party, when confronted with this charge, uses only one defence -- what about Mrs (Indira) Gandhi's Emergency? Yes, that was a full-frontal attack on democracy, no questions about that, but we saw it for what it was. This government's modus operandi has been indirect and creeping, an incremental and systemic assault for the past 10 years," she said.

The TMC MP alleged that the Modi government has consistently sought to erase the distinction between the ruling party and the State by undermining and capturing all the mechanisms that seek executive accountability.

"It is killing our Constitution by a thousand cuts," she added.

Moitra flagged electoral malpractices, such as voter disenfranchisement and biased campaign finance, giving the ruling party an unfair advantage. Voter disenfranchisement has reached epic proportions in India, she claimed.

Another aspect is the largely-targeted exclusion of a "hated minority" by a prejudiced majoritarian State, creating a whole section of second-class citizens whose rights are less equal than others, Moitra said.

This government has brought a "discriminatory" Citizenship (Amendment) Act that is openly violative of the right to equality before law, she added.

Hitting out at the BJP-ruled states, Moitra said these governments are competing with each other in "bulldozer justice", demolishing homes, usually of minorities, without due process of law.

Moitra also attacked the BJP government over the abrogation of the provisions of Article 370 of the Constitution in Jammu and Kashmir and said the right to free speech of the people of the region has been hampered.

She also dubbed probe agencies, such as the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), as "extortionist departments" of the government.

"In a cooked-up case against me, the CBI is wasting precious time looking for a scarf and lipstick that a friend gave me," she said.

Hitting out at the Centre over the issue of independence of the Election Commission, Moitra said, "Since this government has come in, two ECs have inexplicably quit before their terms ended." She further alleged that the Lok Sabha polls held earlier in the year saw "blatant and egregious" violations by the BJP and the prime minister, which a compliant Election Commission ignored.

Other institutional bodies have also been severely compromised, Moitra added.

"It is crystal clear that this political executive, for the last 10 years, has systematically eroded democracy. It fails spectacularly on all three tests of constitutional accountability. Our Constitution is bleeding from a thousand cuts," she said.

Moitra also read out poems by Hilal Fareed and Faiz Ahmed Faiz to take a swipe at the Modi government.