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Stepping up its offensive on the government over BJP MP Nishikant Dubey’s remarks on the judiciary, the Congress on Sunday described it as an “attack on the Constitution”, even as party insiders said they would look to draw the people’s attention towards such issues during the party’s nationwide “Samvidhan Bachao” campaign. The campaign incidentally was launched on Saturday, hours after Dubey targeted the Supreme Court, saying Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna was responsible for “all civil wars in the country”.
Terming the four-time BJP MP’s remarks as a “conspiracy of the BJP to start a narrative against the judiciary”, Congress insiders claimed that the “issue had been served to them on a platter”.
“We will make sure that the issues, including threats to the judiciary, reach the people in the coming days through our Samvidhan Bachao campaign. We will leave no stone unturned to attack the BJP on how it is trying to weaken the Constitutional tenets by targeting the judiciary over the past few days,” a party leader said.
A senior Congress leader claimed that Dubey’s remarks and those by Rajya Sabha MP Dinesh Sharma, who said that the judiciary “cannot direct the President”, indicate that the BJP is unhappy with the way the Supreme Court flagged issues with the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, and earlier prescribed a timeline for the President to decide on pending Bills.
The BJP has distanced itself from the remarks made by both Dubey and Sharma. In a post on X Saturday night, BJP president J P Nadda said: “The BJP has nothing to do with the statements made by BJP MPs Nishikant Dubey and Dinesh Sharma on the judiciary and the CJI. These are their personal statements but the BJP neither agrees with such statements nor does it ever support such statements. The BJP completely rejects these statements.”
Leading the Congress’s charge on Sunday were AICC communication in-charge Jairam Ramesh and AICC general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal. While Ramesh asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi if he was “tacitly supportive” of the “repeated attacks on the Constitution”, Venugopal termed Dubey’s remarks as a “direct attack on the Constitution”.
“Every time the judiciary stands up for Constitutional values, certain individuals start hyperventilating. Threats, taunts, and tantrums follow because the idea of checks and balances clearly hurts some unchecked egos,” Venugopal said in a post on X.
Terming the BJP’s move to distance itself from the MP’s comments as “nothing but face-saving”, Venugopal alleged that the “BJP’s mask had slipped while the real intentions had walked out”.
“When those in high offices lecture the Judiciary on restraint, it is not advice, it is intimidation. This is not a debate, it’s a warning shot. A blatant attempt to scare, silence, and subvert,” he said.
Claiming that the BJP distancing itself from its MP’s “atrocious remarks carried little meaning”, Ramesh said, “It will fool nobody. This is Entire Political Science reflecting itself as Entire Political Hypocrisy.”
Congress MP and lawyer Manish Tewari said disagreements with a judgment should not translate into disrespect for the apex court or the judiciary. “The Supreme Court is the final arbiter of all laws, including the interpretation of the Constitution on the touchstone of Constitutionality. This is the settled Constitutional position. If someone disagrees with a Supreme Court judgment, the correct way is to file a review,” he told The Indian Express.
“If one is still not satisfied and if the court were to agree, there is always the possibility of a curative review,” Tewari said, adding that over the past 10 years, an “unnecessary inquisition” of the judiciary has emerged as a trend.
Congress leader Pawan Khera said the BJP was “opening a front” against the judiciary as the top court is “protecting the Constitution against the BJP’s attacks on the democratic structure of the country”.
Emphasising that the BJP “threatens the Constitution”, Khera said, “The BJP and the Sangh are not just against the Supreme Court. They are against the Constitution,” he said, and added that the attack was a “well thought out experiment” by the BJP.
Following the Supreme Court verdict on Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi “delaying Bills”, in which it prescribed timelines for the Governor as well as the President to give their assent, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar last week triggered a debate on the issue, saying India cannot have a situation where the “judiciary directs the President”.
