Hyderabad, Dec 10 (PTI) The Telangana BJP on Wednesday flayed the INDIA bloc for initiating an impeachment motion in Parliament for the removal of Madras High Court Judge G R Swaminathan, whose order on lighting a lamp at a temple in Tamil Nadu has sparked a row.
It was an “unprecedented and dangerous attack” on the judiciary by Congress, DMK and other parties, Telangana BJP chief spokesperson N V Subhash said in a statement.
The opposition’s move raises serious concerns about its attitude towards Constitutional institutions and the religious rights of the majority community, he said.
“Who is truly undermining Constitutional institutions today—the BJP or the Opposition? Who is drawing communal lines and dictating what a community can or cannot practice? The Congress-led opposition owes the nation an answer,” he said.
Subhash said the BJP does not believe in issuing provocative statements, but has a duty to caution the Hindu majority that their cultural freedoms are increasingly coming under attack from parties engaged in “reckless appeasement politics”.
He alleged that the DMK’s brazen behaviour in Tamil Nadu, where elections are due next year, reflects a larger pattern seen across Congress-led opposition ranks.
While the Congress and its allies routinely accuse the BJP of disrespecting Constitutional bodies, Subhash said they must explain how they justified demanding action against a judge “for issuing a fair and lawful order that merely protected a centuries-old Hindu tradition”.
“Imagine the outrage if any political party asked another faith to stop lighting candles or performing rituals central to their belief systems. Why, then, are Hindu rituals repeatedly targeted and questioned?” he asked.
According to Subhash, it was disturbing that senior Congress leader Priyanka Vadra “rushed to criticise the court order” instead of defending judicial independence. Such responses reflect a sense of entitlement and a refusal to respect India’s plural ethos.
Several opposition MPs, led by the DMK, had on Tuesday submitted a notice to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to move a motion for the removal of Madras High Court Judge G R Swaminathan, whose order directing the authorities of Subramaniya Swamy temple in Madurai district to ensure that a lamp is lit at the deepathoon (pillar) sparked a row. PTI SJR SJR ROH
(This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)
