The Congress on Monday called for the resignation of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant over his earlier remarks on law and order, marking a new flashpoint amid the ongoing INDIA bloc protests.
The Kerala unit of the Congress on Monday lashed out at the CJI—addressing him simply as "Surya Kant" (without a title)—and argued that if law and order was not his domain, then he should resign.
“Dear Surya Kant, If law and order is not your domain, resign now. We will find your replacement who can handle it," it wrote in a now-deleted post on X.
This still sparked a row on social media, with Union Minister Kiren Rijiju calling it a case of "anti-India gangs joining hands".
"I had said it earlier, next target of the Congress Party is Judiciary. Congress wants to destroy all the constitutional and democratic institutions of India," he wrote on X, with a screenshot of the deleted post.
"The days when you could intimidate the judiciary during the Emergency are long gone. This is New India under Narendra Modi Ji. Now shut up and get lost," the Kerala unit of the BJP wrote on X, with a link to the deleted post.
This comes after the CJI had earlier clarified the scope of the Supreme Court's role in the ongoing INDIA bloc protests, pointing out that "yeh law and order ka mudda hai ... yeh mera vishay nahin hai (This is a law-and-order issue ... it is not my domain)".
The CJI's comments, on the protests over alleged electoral malpractices amid the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, came on the sidelines of an event marking the 33rd anniversary of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).
Notably, it was at the same event that he spoke about his Sunday decision to reject the INDIA bloc leaders's request for a meeting to discuss the alleged vote theft issue behind the protests.
He reiterated that the matter was already sub judice before the Supreme Court, due to which he said he had urged them to approach the apex court through a formal petition, rather than to submit a memorandum through the administrative route.
A team of 10-15 INDIA bloc leaders were allowed into the Supreme Court to file this petition on Monday, titled 'Rahul Gandhi v. Election Commission of India'.
