On Rijiju's ‘lakshman rekha’ remark, Chidambaram's jibe: ‘All the King’s…’

Union law minister Kiren Rijiju had said the government respected the Supreme Court’s decision but all organs of the government needed to respect one another and not cross the “lakshman rekha” (boundary).

Published on: May 12, 2022, 11:07:19 IST

By HT News Desk | Written by Kunal Gaurav

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Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram hit out at Union law minister Kiren Rijiju for his ‘lakshman rekha’ remark following the Supreme Court's historic decision to put on hold colonial-era sedition law. Chidambaram said that the law minister has no authority to draw any “arbitrary lakshman rekha”, adding that the legislature cannot make a law that violates the fundamental rights.

Senio Congress leader and former Union minister P Chidambaram. (ANI file photo)

Rijiju had said the government respected the Supreme Court’s decision and will work to ensure the law is not misused but added that all organs of the government needed to respect one another and not cross the “lakshman rekha” (boundary).

"We've made our positions very clear and also informed the court about intention of prime minister Narendra Modi. We respect the court and its independence… but there's a 'lakshman rekha' that must be respected by all organs of the state in letter and spirit," Rijiju said.

“We have to ensure we respect the provisions of the Indian Constitution as well as existing laws.”

Sedition law: 5 key points from Supreme Court's big decision on Section 124A

Citing legal scholars, Chidambaram argued that the 152-year-old law violates Article 19 and Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. He asserted that the government cannot save the law with all its might.

“The Law Minister of India has no authority to draw any arbitrary Lakshman Rekha,” he wrote on Twitter. “He should read Article 13 of the Constitution.”

He added that the “[l]egislature cannot make a law, nor can a law be allowed to remain on the statute book, that violates the Fundamental Rights.”

“The sedition law, in the view of many legal scholars, violates Articles 19 and 21 of the Constitution,” Congress leader further wrote. “All the King’s horses and all the King’s men cannot save that law.”

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