New Delhi, April 22: The Congress on Sunday hit out at the BJP for "defending" Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra and said the latter should consider recusing himself from judicial and administrative work till he was cleared of the charge of "misbehaviour".
"If his (CJI) own conduct is under a cloud, should he not consider recusing himself from performing judicial and administrative duties and submit himself to an inquiry so that the high office and his individual integrity are cleared or the process of law is followed in an appropriate manner," Congress Spokesperson Rajdeep Surjewala told a press conference here.
"... the highest (law) officer of the country, an officer who is head of India's judiciary, an officer who heads the final temple of justice, an officer to whom people go to seek justice... Caesar's wife must be above suspicion. And that's why we have left it to his (CJI) conscience," he added.
"This will ensure that the process of law is followed in an appropriate manner."
In an unprecedented move, 64 members of the Rajya Sabha belonging to seven parties led by the Congress on Friday submitted an impeachment motion for the removal of the Chief Justice on five grounds of "misbehaviour".
Surjewala's remarks came in the wake of media reports that the CJI had decided not to recuse himself from administrative and judicial work in the Supreme Court.
Hitting out at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Surjewala said the ruling party was compromising the position and office of the Chief Justice as a neutral arbitrator and head of the judiciary and the ruling party was doing a great disservice to the independence of the Indian judicial system.
"Does the CJI belong to a political party, ruling or otherwise? Does the CJI have to be defended by political parties or Ministers in the government? Is it not a disservice to the CJI office? They are compromising the position and office of the CJI," Surjewala said.
He said that Chief Justice Misra must tell the BJP not to politicise his high office and not to politicise the impeachment motion.
Vivek Tankha, Chairman of the Congress' Legal Department, said: "He is the Chief Justice of India. He should voluntarily submit to any probe. He should regain public faith. Till then, he should think whether he should work as a Judge or not."
He maintained that the impeachment motion was not meant to insult or lower his dignity but to take the allegation against him to its logical conclusion.
Another Congress leader and Senior Advocate K.T.S. Tulsi said that the nature of charges against the CJI was so serious that an enquiry should be ordered at the earliest.
"The enquiry will be able to protect the dignity of the office of the Chief Justice of India. If no enquiry is held, it will cause much greater damage to the Supreme Court prestige," Tulsi said.
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismisses defence minister in surprise announcement
Jerusalem, Nov 5: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday dismissed his popular defence minister, Yoav Gallant, in a surprise announcement that came as the country is embroiled in wars on multiple fronts across the region.
Netanyahu and Gallant have repeatedly been at odds over the war in Gaza. But Netanyahu had avoided firing his rival. Netanyahu cited “significant gaps” and a “crisis of trust” between the men in his Tuesday evening announcement.
“In the midst of a war, more than ever, full trust is required between the prime minister and defence minister,” Netanyahu said. “Unfortunately, although in the first months of the campaign there was such trust and there was very fruitful work, during the last months this trust cracked between me and the defence minister.”
In the early days of the war, Israel's leadership presented a unified front as it responded to Hamas' October 7, 2023, attack. But as the war dragged on and spread to Lebanon, key policy differences have emerged. While Netanyahu has called for continued military pressure on Hamas, Gallant had taken a more pragmatic approach, saying that military force has created the necessary conditions for a diplomatic deal that could bring home hostages held by the Hamas group.
Gallant, a former general who has gained public respect with a gruff, no-nonsense personality, said in a statement: “The security of the state of Israel always was, and will always remain, my life's mission."
Gallant has worn a simple, black buttoned shirt throughout the war in a sign of sorrow over the October 7 attack and developed a strong relationship with his US counterpart, Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin.
A previous attempt by Netanyahu to fire Gallant in March 2023 sparked widespread street protests against Netanyahu. He also flirted with the idea of dismissing Gallant over the summer but held off until Tuesday's announcement.
Gallant will be replaced by Foreign Minister Israel Katz, a Netanyahu loyalist and veteran Cabinet minister who was a junior officer in the military. Gideon Saar, a former Netanyahu rival who recently rejoined the government, will take the foreign affairs post.
Netanyahu has a long history of neutralising his rivals. In his statement, he claimed he had made “many attempts” to bridge the gaps with Gallant.
“But they kept getting wider. They also came to the knowledge of the public in an unacceptable way, and worse than that, they came to the knowledge of the enemy - our enemies enjoyed it and derived a lot of benefit from it,” he said.
