No push-button judiciary

Former US vice-president Al Gore, here in India to attend a publication’s conclave, made a quiet visit to Parliament and spoke to a group of MPs on climate change. During the interaction, as the Lok Sabha Speaker was waxing eloquent on India being the largest democracy, free and fair elections, etc., Gore sat in silence. When Somnath Chatterjee spoke of India’s success with electronic voting machines, Gore interrupted to sound a note of caution, saying they were “vulnerable”. The Speaker rebutted this and reminded Gore that “it was the judiciary that let you down, not EVMs”. Gore bounced right back saying, “Fair enough, so we must ensure that at least they do their job fairly.” The Speaker, himself having taken several jibes at the functioning of the Indian judiciary, could only nod vigorously.