"Don't Lay Your Liberties At Feet Of A Great Man": Chief Justice Gogoi
New Delhi, Nov 26: Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi today underscored the primacy of the Constitution and warned that to preserve democracy and the country's institutions, the constitutional liberties must be safeguarded.
"We must observe the caution which (British political economist) John Stuart Mill has given to all who are interested in maintenance of democracy, namely not to lay their liberties at the feet of even a great man. Or to trust him with power which enables him to subvert their institutions," the Chief Justice said at an event to mark Constitution Day. "There is nothing wrong in being grateful to a great man who has rendered life-long services to the country. But there are limits to gratefulness," he added.
The Constitution Day, marking the adoption of the constitution in 1950, is "inextricably entwined" in our lives and it is in our best interest to pay attention to its advice, the Chief Justice said. "If we do not, our hubris will result in sharp descent into chaos," he said.
His warning comes amid Congress allegations of subversion of institutes by the government, which have been sharpened after the recent crisis at the Central Bureau of Investigation.
Over the last year, the Congress and the BJP have levelled tit-for-tat political attacks, accusing each other of failing to uphold the Constitution.
In April, following a spate of attacks on people from the Scheduled Castes, the Congress had launched a year-long "Save the Constitution" campaign.
Hours later, BJP chief Amit Shah accused the Congress of trampling on the Constitution for 60 years. The Congress, he said, had also tried to impeach the Chief Justice of India and accused the party of attacking every institution, including the national auditor CAG, the Election Commission, the Army and the Supreme Court at different points of time.
Over the last few months, the Congress has alleged that the BJP-led government was tearing apart the judiciary, the Election Commission, the CBI and the Reserve Bank.
Courtesy: www.ndtv.com
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
21 hours raid fetch nothing for ED, claims Karnataka Cong MLA’s son
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Congress MLA N A Haris' son Mohammed Haris Nalapad on Tuesday claimed that the 21 hours of search by the ED in his house and other locations did not fetch anything.
The Enforcement Directorate on Monday raided the premises of the two sons of Haris (Mohammed Haris Nalapad and Omar Farook Nalapad), Aqeeb Khan, grandson of ex-Union cabinet minister K Rahman Khan and an alleged crypto hacker named Srikrishna Ramesh alias Sriki in a crypto currency-linked money laundering case.
More than a dozen premises in the city have been covered as part of the action executed under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
"My grandfather is 89-year-old. There is not a single bad mark. My father (N A Haris) is a four-time MLA. There is not a single accusation against him. Their only intention was to target myself and my brother. As simple as that," Mohammed Nalapad, who is a former Karnataka Youth Congress president, told reporters.
According to him, the ED officials carried out raids for 21 hours.
"After 21 hours of search, they took away only two mobile phones from our house. They did not get a single paisa. The ED will testify it," the Congress leader said.
Exuding faith in the law, he said he is ready to fight the case in court.
"Me and my father have opted for politics and we are in public life. You can call me whatever you want but I have not done anything wrong," Mohammed Nalapad said.
Regarding his relationship with Sriki, he said he knew him but had no clue what he was doing.
"I have never said that either me or my brother do not know Sriki. But how will I know what he does in his house? Can his crimes be linked to us," he asked.
The money laundering case stems from some Karnataka Police FIRs and chargesheets filed in a 2017 case of hacking of national and international websites, stealing of bitcoins and sale of these 'stolen' virtual digital assets (VDA) through crypto platforms by the alleged hacker Sriki and his associates.
The Nalapad brothers and Aqeeb Khan are alleged to be the beneficiaries of the proceeds of crime generated through this alleged crypto-linked crime, the ED said.
