The Opposition Monday reacted sharply to President Ram Nath Kovind nominating former Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi to Rajya Sabha. While the Congress said the move is one of the most “unpardonable” assaults on the basic structure of the Constitution, the CPM called it a brazen undermining of the judiciary’s independence. Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi said, “.the Congress finds that the nomination yesterday of a retired Chief Justice to the Rajya Sabha is one of the most serious, unprecedented and unpardonable assaults on the basic structure of the Constitution, which subsumes independence of judiciary as held by Hon’ble Supreme Court judgments.” Read | Once upon a time what his Lordship said: Post-retirement appointment is a scar on the independence of judiciary “Our judiciary thrives, strengthens, works and prospers on perception, on faith, on belief, on aastha, on vishwas. All of these pillars on which the judiciary stands have taken a beating yesterday,” Singhvi said. Read | Ex-CJI Gogoi has ‘compromised principles of independence, impartiality of judiciary’: Justice Kurian Joseph Releasing a statement on behalf of CPM, party general secretary Sitaram Yechury said “by nominating the former CJI to the Rajya Sabha, the (Narendra) Modi government is brazenly undermining the independence of the judiciary and subverting the separation of powers between the organs of the State, which is an inviolable principle enshrined in our Constitutional scheme”. AAP’s Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh tweeted, “The BJP has rewarded the services of former CJI Gogoi who got his named embossed in golden letters for his verdict in the Rafale case.”
