Dinakaran case: BJP says judicial misconduct is caste-neutral

BJP today refuted BSP's accusation that the impeachment demand against Karnataka chief justice PD Dinakaran was victimisation of a Dalit, saying judicial misconduct was a "caste-neutral issue".

"Judicial misconduct is a caste-neutral issue. It always relates to persons and not their background," Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Arun Jaitley said.

He gave the examples of previous impeachment cases involving Justice Ramaswamy of the Supreme Court and Justice Soumitra Sen of Calcutta High Court, saying they were from different castes.
   
75 Rajya Sabha MPs have signed on a petition submitted to vice-president Hamid Ansari demanding an impeachment motion against Dinakaran. MPs from BJP, Left Parties, Samajwadi Party and AIADMK had signed on the petition. Congress and BSP did
not give their assent.

BSP supremo and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati wrote a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh against the demand for impeachment and argued that Dinakaran, a Dalit, was being victimised due to his caste.
   
Signatures of 50 Rajya Sabha MPs or 100 Lok Sabha MPs are required to bring about such a motion.

Dismissing the caste argument, Jaitley said, "I don't think caste can be pleaded as a defence or a diversion."