Shinde terms INDIA bloc's Supreme Court march a black day, suspects foreign hand and wants apology

Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has sharply attacked the INDIA bloc over its march in Delhi towards the Supreme Court, calling it an attempt to bring pressure on the judiciary. Speaking in Mumbai, he held Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and the Opposition alliance responsible and said the country should not take such conduct lightly.

Shinde said he feared that outside forces could be behind the agitation and that it might form part of an international conspiracy meant to weaken democracy and constitutional institutions. He asked the Opposition parties to apologise to the nation and to the judiciary.

"Yesterday was a black day in the country's history. Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar gave the country its Constitution and built constitutional institutions. In such a situation, marching on the Supreme Court and trying to pressure it is a serious matter," Shinde said.

He argued that every citizen in a democracy has the right to approach the court with a petition, but questioned what kind of method it was to take out a march in order to file one. According to Shinde, the Opposition has been unable to defeat Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the hustings and is therefore trying to unsettle the country. He said agitating against Modi was the only item on the Opposition's agenda.

On the Emergency, Shinde rejected any comparison with the present. "Had there been an Emergency in the country, would they have been able to take the agitation to the Supreme Court? Today everyone has the freedom to speak. Is it right then to insult the judiciary?" he asked. During the Emergency, he noted, freedom of expression was curbed, which is why the two situations cannot be put side by side.

Shinde also spoke on the protest over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The Opposition is agitating over the removal of voters' names, he said, but Form No. 6 exists for getting names added, and the process is meant to make sure no voter is wronged. He alleged that political gain lay behind the agitation.

The INDIA bloc, for its part, has questioned alleged irregularities in the electoral rolls, the SIR process and the role of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The ruling side and the Opposition continue to trade charges on these issues.

Reacting to the murder of Pradeep Purnekar, an office-bearer of the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) faction, in Thane, Shinde called the incident unfortunate. He said he had spoken to the police. "The incident is being investigated. No one will be spared," he said.