A note recovered from him (the advocate) by the police said…"Sanatan dharma ka apmaan nahi sahega Hindustan" (File Photo)
AFTER a 71 year old advocate allegedly threw a shoe at Chief Justice of India B R Gavai on Monday morning inside the Supreme Court, several lawyers and politicians have called it an attack on the Constitution of India.
The incident occurred around 11.30 am during the proceedings in Court No 1. Advocate Rakesh Kishore took out his shoe and threw it towards the CJI. It did not hit the CJI. He was detained and later released in the evening as the apex court’s registrar general did not press any charges against him…A note recovered from him by the police said…”Sanatan dharma ka apmaan nahi sahega Hindustan.”
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Condemning the incident, B G Kolse-Patil, retired judge of the Bombay High Court said the attack on the Chief Justice of India is an attack on the Constitution of India. ”It is an attack aimed at insulting the Constitution of India. It is an attack to pressurise the Chief Justice of India to not give any decision against the central government. The attacks show the growing religious fanaticism in the country, especially after 2014,” Kolse-Patil told the Indian Express.
Kolse-Patil added, ”In the name of Sanatan, the attack was carried out against CJI who is 100 per cent Ambedkarvadi. It seems to be a calculated and well-planned attack to prevent CJI Gavai from making any revolutionary decisions. These fanatic elements are trying to put all constitutional institutions under pressure. What message will it send out to the world? Indians attacking their own CJI in the name of religion? This attack is also an attack on the image and prestige of India which was known for years for its tolerance.”
Former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan said, ”I strongly condemn and deplore the attack on the Chief Justice of India outside the Supreme Court. It shows to what length communal forces can go to spread their hate. It is an attack on the Constitution, an attack on the idea of India itself. The government must go after the organisations sponsoring this intolerance.”
Shiv Sena (UBT) spokesperson Sanjay Raut said, ”The attack on CJI Bhushan Gavai is a direct attack on Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar and our Constitution. The attacker is a fanatic Hindu. He is a product of BJP’s training school.”
NCP (SP) MP Supriya Sule said, “The attack on CJI Bhushan Gavai is shocking and equally worrying. It seems to be an attempt to put pressure on the judicial system. This is certainly not in the interest of a robust democracy. I want to request the central government to take stern action against the attacker. The central government should take all steps to ensure that the dignity of our judicial system, our judges and the Chief Justice of India is protected.”
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MPCC spokesperson Harshvardhan Sapkal said,”The attack on CJI Bhushan Gavai is not an attack on an individual but it is an attack on the basic values of Indian democracy. Those spreading hatred in the name of sanatan have now entered the judicial temple. This is not a warning bell but a direct attack on the Constitution, Social Justice and Equality. Those who stand for the Constitution and those who try to protect the Constitution are being attacked. This country belongs to Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, justice and equality. It does not belong to anyone’s ego of caste and religion. Such attacks will not deter us, we will not backtrack.”
Human rights advocate Asim Sarode said, ”The shoe attack on CJI Bhushan Gavai is highly condemnable. The growing intolerance, religious intolerance and casteist-mindset should worry each and every India…The advocate who threw shoes raised slogans in favour of Sanatan Dharma and he said he will not tolerate anything said against his religion. This only shows arrogance and goondaism. Be it educated or uneducated, they all seem to have been inculcated with the doctrine of religious fanaticism. Blame it on today’s politics. Political leaders are making all kinds of wild statements. Even on the cricket field, we find intolerance is growing. This is dangerous There is a feeling among some people that if they resort to violence, they believe that they have done a great job.”
Sarode added, ”This behaviour of certain elements has thrown up several questions before the judicial system. Some people do not seem to want an independent judiciary. They seem to oppose those who do not give decisions in their favour…India does not want religious fanaticism. As Indians we should all rise against those who are challenging our democracy and our free independent judiciary.”
Manoj More has been working with the Indian Express since 1992. For the first 16 years, he worked on the desk, edited stories, made pages, wrote special stories and handled The Indian Express edition. In 31 years of his career, he has regularly written stories on a range of topics, primarily on civic issues like state of roads, choked drains, garbage problems, inadequate transport facilities and the like. He has also written aggressively on local gondaism. He has primarily written civic stories from Pimpri-Chinchwad, Khadki, Maval and some parts of Pune. He has also covered stories from Kolhapur, Satara, Solapur, Sangli, Ahmednagar and Latur. He has had maximum impact stories from Pimpri-Chinchwad industrial city which he has covered extensively for the last three decades.
Manoj More has written over 20,000 stories. 10,000 of which are byline stories. Most of the stories pertain to civic issues and political ones. The biggest achievement of his career is getting a nearly two kilometre road done on Pune-Mumbai highway in Khadki in 2006. He wrote stories on the state of roads since 1997. In 10 years, nearly 200 two-wheeler riders had died in accidents due to the pathetic state of the road. The local cantonment board could not get the road redone as it lacked funds. The then PMC commissioner Pravin Pardeshi took the initiative, went out of his way and made the Khadki road by spending Rs 23 crore from JNNURM Funds. In the next 10 years after the road was made by the PMC, less than 10 citizens had died, effectively saving more than 100 lives.
Manoj More's campaign against tree cutting on Pune-Mumbai highway in 1999 and Pune-Nashik highway in 2004 saved 2000 trees.
During Covid, over 50 doctors were asked to pay Rs 30 lakh each for getting a job with PCMC. The PCMC administration alerted Manoj More who did a story on the subject, asking then corporators how much money they demanded....The story worked as doctors got the job without paying a single paisa.
Manoj More has also covered the "Latur drought" situation in 2015 when a "Latur water train" created quite a buzz in Maharashtra. He also covered the Malin tragedy where over 150 villagers had died.
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