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Hours after nearly 600 lawyers wrote to CJI D Y Chandrachud about the actions of a “vested interest group” which they alleged “is trying to pressure the judiciary, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Thursday slammed the Congress party for “shamelessly” seeking commitment “from others for their selfish interests.”
Hitting out at the opposition party, PM Modi claimed that “to browbeat and bully others is vintage Congress culture.”
To browbeat and bully others is vintage Congress culture.
5 decades ago itself they had called for a “committed judiciary” – they shamelessly want commitment from others for their selfish interests but desist from any commitment towards the nation.
No wonder 140 crore Indians… https://t.co/dgLjuYONHH
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 28, 2024
Reacting to the letter submitted by about 600 lawyers urging the Supreme Court to act, the PM in a post on X said: “To browbeat and bully others is vintage Congress culture. 5 decades ago itself they had called for a “committed judiciary” – they shamelessly want commitment from others for their selfish interests but desist from any commitment towards the nation. No wonder 140 crore Indians are rejecting them.”
In the letter “expressing… deepest concern,” the signatories claimed that “this heated interest group operates in various ways. They create false narratives of a supposed ‘better past’ and ‘golden period’ of the courts, contrasting it with the happenings in the present. These are nothing but intentional statements, made to sway court decisions and to embarrass the courts for certain political gains”.
They also alleged that efforts were being made ‘to belittle and manipulate courts for personal and political reasons’ and requested the Supreme Court to act.
The letter addressed to the CJI said “the timing of their modus operandi also merits closer scrutiny- they do it at very strategic timings, when the nation is all set to head into elections” and added, “We are reminded of similar antics in 2018-2019 when they took to their ‘hit and run’ activities, including fabricating wrong narrative”.
“These efforts to belittle and manipulate the courts for personal and political reasons cannot be allowed under any circumstances,” the lawyers said and urged the Supreme Court “to stand strong and take steps to protect our courts from these attacks”.