GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 8th Feb. Asaduddin Owaisi, an AIMIM MP, said on Wednesday that the Narendra Modi government is bringing back the “Indira Gandhi era,” referring to a tug of war over the process of appointing judges and raising concerns about those in constitutional positions commenting on the “basic structure” of the Constitution.
Owaisi also accused the government of not doing enough for minorities and expressed concerns about the India-China border situation during a debate on the Motion of Thanks on the President’s address.
“People on constitutional posts are commenting on the basic structure… The law minister has made comments on collegium… When the NJAC (National Judicial Appointments Commission) Bill came I was the only MP who said it would be against the basic structure of the Constitution,” Owaisi said.
“You should learn a lesson from Indira Gandhi. Indira Gandhi said the judiciary should follow her, now PM Modi is saying the judiciary should be loyal to him…You are bringing back the same Indira Gandhi era,” he said.
The judiciary and the executive have been at odds over the process of appointing Supreme Court and high court judges.
Owaisi also accused the government of not doing enough for minorities, claiming that the budget for minorities had been cut by 40%.
“The minorities who make up 19 percent of the population were not even mentioned in the President’s speech,” he said. “The Narendra Modi government does not want Muslim children to study, they want them to be victims of poverty,” he said.
“She has been fighting for 20 years, but justice has been denied to her because her name is Bilkis Bano,” Owaisi said of Bilkis Bano.
Bilkis Bano, who was gang-raped and seven members of her family were killed during the 2002 Gujarat riots, has petitioned the Supreme Court to overturn the acquittal of 11 convicts.
The AIMIM MP claimed that the government is “scared of China” when discussing the India-China border situation.
“Would the prime minister take the name of China? It was said that out of 65 patrolling points, India cannot do patrolling on 26 patrolling points. You are scared of China. Disengagement happened. When will de-escalation and de-induction happen?” he asked.
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