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‘Tamasha’: Rijiju on stage, Ashok Gehlot's jibe about toppled govts and how his survived
Referring to the governments of Karnataka, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, among others, Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot said he does know how his government “survived” the process.
Rajasthan chief minister and Congress leader Ashok Gehlot on Saturday took a veiled dig at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over dethroning elected state governments through horse trading. Calling the entire process a ‘tamasha’ (joke), Gehlot said he does not know how his Congress-led government “survived”.
“I would not have been standing before you today. You would have met some other chief minister today. It was a matter of touch-and-go,” Gehlot said during his address at the inaugural session of the 18th All India Legal Services Authority in Jaipur, attended by Chief Justice of India NV Ramana, among others. Union law minister and BJP leader Kiren Rijiju was also in attendance.
Gehlot mentioned Goa, Manipur, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra to back his statement on the fall of elected governments. He also spoke about the political crisis faced by his government due to a rebellion by his then deputy CM Sachin Pilot.
Gehlot also lashed out at the recent attacks on Supreme Court judges over their observations against suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma. Referring to the group of former judges and bureaucrats, who earlier this month had demanded that the apex court recall its observations on Sharma, Gehlot added that an “issue was created in the country”.
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The group had alleged that the top court crossed the “Laxman Rekha” (boundary) while making the judgements. It consisted of as many as 15 high court judges, 77 former all India services officers and 25 veterans - putting the total figure to 116.
A Supreme Court bench, comprising Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Surya Kant, were at the centre of social media tirade following their observations in the July 1 hearing of Sharma's case wherein they said she was “single-handedly responsible for putting the entire nation on fire”.
Later, Pardiwala lamented the “personal attack” on judges for their judgements saying it may lead to a dangerous scenario where they “have to think about what the media thinks, rather than what the law actually says”.
Sharma's comment on Prophet Mohammad during a TV debate had triggered massive protests across the country. Weeks later, Udaipur tailor Kanhaiya Lal and Amravati veterinary pharmacist Umesh Kolhe, who had put up posts on social media in support of Sharma, were brutally killed by Muslim radicals.
Gehlot said these 116 people were “made to stand” against the judges. “Don't know who they were? How it was managed and who managed it and an issue was created in the country.”
The chief minister also asked Rijiju to convey his message to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to address the nation to appeal for harmony and brotherhood. “He has to say ‘I will not accept violence at any cost’. I believe the law minister can convince him. He (Modi) does not listen to us,” the CM added.
Gehlot also talked about the exorbitant charges of lawyers of the top court, claiming they go up to ₹1 crore. During his speech, Rijiju also echoed the Rajasthan CM, saying the charges are not affordable by a common man.
(With inputs from agencies)
