Supreme lesson for Opposition – fight your own battle, don’t rush crying to court

Spread the love

By Our Special Correspondent

New Delhi, April 5: Counsels for the 14 Opposition parties made hasty retreats from the Supreme Court after they sensed that Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud was in a mood to give them lessons on Constitution. The Opposition parties also ended scoring self-goal by giving ammunitions to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that they were seeking protection from the court against “crackdown against corruption”.

The BJP’s 2024 Lok Sabha election plank is setting out to be war against corruption. The Opposition parties call it “weaponisation” of the investigative agencies. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee tried political creativity by holding demonstration with washing machines, which cleaned clothes of taints. This was an extension of the “BJP washing powder” campaign of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS).

Justice Chandrachud probed the Opposition counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi on basic test of the rule of law, that all are equal before the law. Singhvi was floored when asked to explain how politicians, while being citizens of the country, could demand a separate set of law for themselves.

The Constitution Bench consisting of the CJI and Justice JB Pardiwala showed not much of interest in statistics belted out by Singhvi. The eminent lawyer said that while 60 per cent and 54 per cent were the cases involving the Opposition leaders when Congress-led UPA was in power probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate respectively, the numbers have shot up to 95 per cent for each now.

The Judges made it clear that statistics could be the basis for generalization of the notion. With the Opposition parties, which clearly sought to make the top court party to their political battle against the ruling BJP, now left to fend for themselves, the BJP is set to step up campaign against them on the corruption plank.

Addressing a conference of the investigative agencies, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had exhorted the officials to go after corruption. Modi has made similar statements during the BJP’s parliamentary party meeting when he had said that the corrupt politicians were ganging against him. He had made similar remark even while addressing an official function in Bhopal last week.

Political observers concur that Modi is bracing up to arm himself with anti-corruption crusader shield for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, as the Opposition parties are showing signs of burying the hatchets to stitch together some arrangements for a united fight against the BJP.