Cong plans motion against Justice Varma in RS; Rijiju ready with over 100 signatories in LS

The Samajwadi Party and Trinamool Congress, however, are not on the same page as the Congress on the issue and are yet to take a call on whether they will support the motion.

Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Kiren Rijiju, meanwhile, said that more than 100 MPs have signed a notice to bring a motion in the Lok Sabha for removal of Justice Varma. Congress sources said around 20 MPs from the party have signed the notice.

The sources said the Treasury Benches had asked the party to get 40 signatures and the Congress is expected to hand over the signatures by Monday morning.

Justice Varma, currently a judge at the Allahabad High Court, was indicted by a Supreme Court committee after currency notes were discovered at his official residence in Delhi.

Speaking to reporters after an all-party meeting on Sunday, Rijiju said that “the signatures have already crossed 100”. He said the Business Advisory Committee will decide on when the motion will be moved.

Asked if they will support the motion, Samajwadi Party leaders raised the issue of Justice Shekhar Yadav and said the party has kept its distance from the motion against Justice Varma as they want the two to be taken up together. “We will take a call. But we don’t want to support the government on this selective approach. If they are removing one judge, they should do the same against the other too,” said an SP MP.

The party is expected to take a call on the issue after the return of SP chief Akhilesh Yadav from abroad.

Fifty-five Opposition MPs had moved an impeachment notice against Justice Yadav in the Upper House last December for allegedly delivering a hate speech at a gathering last year.

The TMC, on the other hand, said the party MPs were busy with the

Martyrs’ Day rally in Kolkata on Monday and will take a call on the motion on Tuesday. TMC sources said the party is not too keen to support the government on the issue.