Accusing Gandhi of having used the judiciary to fight his political battles, Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar asked him to apologise.
In one week's time, Thursday was the second time that the BJP demanded an apology from Congress chief Rahul Gandhi. This time over the Judge Loya issue, in which apex court dismissed PILs demanding a probe in what they considered a mysterious death.
Accusing Gandhi of having used the judiciary to fight his political battles, Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar asked him to apologise.
"The SC has observed that political battles must be fought on political grounds. It clearly means that the case was fought as political battle against our party president Amit Shah. I want to ask Rahul Gandhi whether, in the face of constant public rejection in state after state, he wants now to fight his political battles through corridors of the courts?" Prasad told reporters at BJP HQ in Delhi.
"This was not a case driven by public interest, but basically driven to promote Congress' interest and to damage the reputation of BJP in general and our national president Amit Shah in particular," Prasad said.
BJP alleged that Gandhi was the "invisible hand" behind the petitions and demanded an apology from him and Sonia Gandhi for defaming its top leadership.
Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said "Today's judgment has demolished the Congress' attempts of hatching criminal conspiracy to destroy and defame our top leadership. The Congress, its president Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi, should apologise for this sin."
Asserting that the SC order had exposed the criminal conspiracy of Congress and its "freelance friends", BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra alleged Congress' "invisible hand" behind the PILs. Patra described the public interest litigations seeking a probe into Loya's death "political interest litigation" and said Congress and Rahul Gandhi were behind it.
Citing that Rahul Gandhi had led a delegation of opposition parties to President Ram Nath Kovind to seek a probe, Patra asked Rahul Gandhi to "apologise" and "his head should hang in shame" for his conspiracy to target Shah, the judiciary and democracy.
What court said
- These PILs are scand-alous, amount to criminal contempt. Their misuse are a matter of concern.
- Motivated, frivolous PILs detract the court's time from hearing genuine petitions.
- We cannot doubt the statements of the judicial officers who were with (judge BH) Loya.
- It appears to be an attempt by the petitioners to malign judges, and is a frontal attack on the judiciary.
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