Leaving Law Ministry with 'supreme' sense of self-satisfaction: Ravi Shankar Prasad

Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, who relinquished the additional charge of Law Ministry, on Monday said he is leaving with a "supreme" sense of self-satisfaction for achieving a lot in his short stint as the Law Minister.

He said the passage of the National Judicial Appointments Commission Bill and its ratification by Goa, Tripura and Rajasthan state legislatures is one of the biggest achievements. The Constitution amendment bill requires ratification by 50 % of the state legislatures. He said since winter sessions of state legislatures are lined up in November and December, the required number of ratifications could be completed in the coming days.

Newly appointed Law Minister D V Sadananda Gowda said he would write a fresh letter to the states requesting them to ratify the bill at the earliest. Prasad had earlier written to the states in this regard.
Prasad said the increase in the strength of judges in ten High Courts with the support of the higher judiciary is another achievement. The increase in the working strength will help clear pending cases and take the burden off judges, he told reporters in New Delhi.

Against the backdrop of the Supreme Court setting a deadline to complete trial in cases involving lawmakers, the Centre has written to the state governments to speed up cases against MPs and MLAs facing charges which attract disqualification. "This is another issue on which I focussed...the cases should be decided fast," Prasad said, adding that cleansing politics of tainted people is one of the priority areas of the Narendra Modi government. "After a stint of five-and-a-half months, I leave with a supreme sense of self-satisfaction," he said.