Ashok Gehlot: No tolerance, PM must speak out on violence

“Tolerance is like the ornament of democracy, but it is not there today,” said Gehlot. Asking Rijiju to convey his thoughts to Modi, Gehlot said: “Hum baar baar keh rahe hain ki aaj desh mein tanav hai, hinsa ka mahaul hai, yeh nahin hona chahiye… Kya Pradhan Mantriji ko yeh nahin kehna chahiye, ki desh ke andar bhaichara, prem mohabbat, sadbhavna rehni chahiye aur main kissi kimat par hinsa ko bardasht nahin karunga. Aaj mahaul aisa ban gaya hai desh ke andar ki chinta paida kar raha hai. Woh chinta samapt honi chahiye. (We are repeatedly saying that there is tension in the country today, an environment of violence, this should not happen… Shouldn’t the Prime Minister say that there should be brotherhood, love and goodwill in the country and that he will not tolerate violence at any cost? Today, the situation in the country is such that it is a matter of concern. That concern should end.”

Referring to the open letter written to the CJI by a group of retired judges, bureaucrats and armed forces officers, criticising the Supreme Court’s observations on former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma, Gehlot said: “It is our duty to respect the judiciary… 116 people were fielded, retired judges and senior officials… How was it managed, who managed it? It was made an issue… The Supreme Court judges had expressed their opinion on the situation in the country.”

On July 1, hearing Sharma’s plea seeking clubbing of the multiple FIRs against her in different states for her remarks on the Prophet, a Supreme Court bench of Justices Surya Kant and J B Pardiwala had reprimanded her, saying she has a “loose tongue” and was “single-handedly responsible for what is happening in the country”. The open letter to the CJI had said the judges’ observations were “unfortunate and unprecedented”.

Gehlot also questioned the practice of bureaucrats and judges accepting posts after retirement. He said former CJI Ranjan Gogoi was one of the four Supreme Court judges who had said democracy is in danger, but he accepted a Rajya Sabha seat post-retirement. Expressing concern over judges and bureaucrats worrying about their post-retirement positions, he said the situation is “very serious”.

Gehlot also expressed concern over attempts to “topple” elected governments, and cited the examples of Maharashtra, Goa, Manipur, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh.