Opposition on mat over impeachment move

Taking a cue from Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, BJP ministers on Saturday took on the Opposition for submitting a notice for the impeachment of Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra.

Union Minister Vijay Goel dubbed the Opposition move as an attack on the judiciary, while his colleague Kiren Rijiju flayed the Congress for lacking trust in institutions.

The notice for CJI Misra's impeachment given by the Congress was a “politically motivated attack on the judiciary” and aimed at “lowering the prestige” of the office of the CJI, said Goel, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs.

The attack came a day after seven Opposition parties submitted a petition to Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu for removal of the CJI on five counts of “misbehaviour” and “misuse of authority”.

Jaitley, the leader of the BJP in the Rajya Sabha, had termed the Opposition move as a “revenge petition” aimed at intimidating one judge and sending a message to other judges. He pointed out that the petition was submitted after the “falsehood of the Congress had been established in the Justice Loya death case”.

Rijiju attacks Cong

“If things do not turn out in their favour, the Opposition parties do not hesitate to attack constitutional bodies such as the Election Commission and the judiciary,” the minister said.

Rijiju, the junior minister for Home Affairs, also targeted the Opposition parties, particularly the Congress, for lacking trust in institutions.

“They don’t trust Army. They don’t trust CJI. They don’t trust SC. They don’t trust EC. They don’t trust EVMs. They don’t trust RBI. They don’t trust PMO. They don’t trust President. And they say Democracy is in Danger!!” Rijiju said on Twitter.