B L Saraf
We live in a nation that has suffered conspiracies, made them a part of the Statecraft (Chankya Neti) reveled in them and, thanks to a crafty politician, nurtured these theories to haunt us constantly.
The functionaries of the ruling party and its sympathizers elsewhere, endlessly, go on blaming Jawaharlal Nehru, his daughter Indira Gandhi and grand children for all the ‘ills ‘ that bedevil India and describe their term of rule as a ‘period gone waste’. But when it comes to labeling people ‘anti -national’ ‘conspirators’ against India the present day rulers have no qualms in borrowing a leaf, rather liberally, from the Book Indira Gandhi scripted, on the subject, with a masterly finesse when she and her son Rajiv Gandhi were at the helm. Whenever anyone from the opposition benches or outside dared to question Indira Gandhi’s or her son’s actions and policies he would be shouted down as an ‘anti national’ and a ‘conspirator’. Terms and idioms like ‘Foreign Hand ‘ and ‘CIA Agent’ were used generously to shut down the dissenting voice, raised genuinely to call in question some of actions and the policies of their Government. Rajiv Gandhi profusely bestowed ‘the honour’ on those who talked of what ignominiously came to be called as ‘Bofors Scandal.”
Such was the intensity in the “Labeling” syndrome that one day the ever ebullient Piloo Mody – the Swatantra party MP – entered Lok Sabaha wearing a badge on his chest displaying “I am a CIA Agent.” Not to rest with “labeling” the political opponents, Mrs. Gandhi ensured that she had a ‘ committed judiciary ‘ and the pliant bureaucracy. Any one not falling in line was taught a lesson or two. The former PM toyed with an idea of clipping the wings of High Courts. It was her rustic Foreign Minister who saved the court’s jurisdiction.
In the days of Internal Emergency of June 1975 Indira Gandhi formed a Constitution Committee which was headed by Swaran Singh – then India’s Foreign Minister and included three prominent lawyers. Their specific mandate was to clip the wings of High Courts by proposing amendments to Art 226 of the Constitution. “Swaran Singh – a non-practicing lawyer — resisted any tinkering with the Article while as the lawyer members were all for the amendments, just to oblige PM Indira Gandhi. He explained his support for the retention of Art 226, as it was, on the ground that when he was a minister in the Punjab Government, he found that as a minister it was not possible to render justice in individual cases because of the pressure and pulls of party politics, and it was far better that courts were left to do the job.” (Fali S Nariman in his book Before Memory Fades p 383.
We seem to be destined to relive the inglorious era of 1970s. The labeling business is on with relentless zeal, as is the idea afloat to keep the Courts in check. After labeling Rahul Gandhi, students , some liberals and quite a number of public intellectuals as ‘anti national’ and members of ‘Tukde Tukde gang , it is now the turn of some former judges of the constitutional courts to wear the ‘badge ‘.
Feeling peeved of some of the pronouncements of the Apex Court the BJP led government in Delhi seems to be on the path to take on the Court and the Judges – particularly those who have demitted the office. On behalf of the government the Law Minister Kiren Rijiju has opened the front .Trigger seems to be the latest order of the Supreme Court which constituted a sort of collegium to appoint members to the Election Commission and thus curtailed powers of the executive to be the sole authority to make such appointments.
At a media event Law Minister said ” There may be three or four retired judges who are activists and part of anti India gang .These people are trying to make the Indian judiciary play the role of an opposition party which cannot happen .” The Sunday Tribune 19, March 2023.
Is the action of the highest judiciary irksome to the Law Minister which makes him fulminate: or there is something more to it than meets the eye? Answer is simple: it is no secret that no minister in the Narendra Modi’s cabinet can dare be so brazen as to call in question the institution like Apex judiciary – unless he has a ” go ahead ” from the top .To the knowledgeable observers the Law Minister may not be acting on his own — everything is moving according to pattern that suits the ideology of the present Government. Well, this is not unprecedented: Mrs. Gandhi did so. Mohan Kumarmaglum – her Law Minister in 1970s took on the judiciary, only, on the PM’s behest, who wanted to have a ‘ committed judiciary ‘ suit to her agenda.
The Law Minister, who has a issue with the collegium system, must care to know that this system primarily has a genesis in Indira Gandhi’s over zeal to have persons of her convenience in the judiciary. It took a lot of effort to repair the damage. There is no wisdom to inflict the damage, anew, when government has many better things to do. We wish Sardar Swaran Singh was around, today.
It won’t pay anybody to stretch the ‘Conspiracy Theory “to the ridiculous lengths. If one intends to speak, have a dialogue with the people at large and educate them to sift responsible patriotism from the politics of hyper nationalism he is trying to be a true nationalist .One has to understand that country is not just its ruling party, no matter it has acquired numbers through election process. Sociologists tell us that a country is defined by its people – their aspirations and struggles. So, a healthy critique of the ruling party or policies of the government is no taboo – certainly not the treason .We have to accord respect to a reasoned debate and dialogue. By detesting debate and discourse we are, surely, doing great disservice to the country.
(The author is Former Principal District & Sessions Judge)
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