Congress slams govt over ex-SC judge's appointment as Governor
calls it 'great threat' to independence of judiciary
New Delhi, Feb 12: The Congress on Sunday attacked the government over the appointment of retired Supreme Court judge S Abdul Nazeer as a governor by citing the late BJP leader Arun Jaitley's remarks against such appointments, and called the move a "great threat" to the independence of the judiciary.
The government on Sunday appointed six new faces as governors, including Nazeer, who was part of the historic 2019 Ayodhya verdict, and four BJP leaders, besides carrying out a rejig of the gubernatorial posts in seven states.
Nazeer, who retired on January 4, has been part of several path-breaking verdicts, including those on the politically sensitive Ayodhya land dispute, instant 'triple talaq' and the one that declared 'right to privacy' a fundamental right.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh tagged a video on Twitter of former Union minister Arun Jaitley saying in 2012 that "pre-retirement judgements are influenced by post-retirement jobs".
"Adequate proof of this in the past 3-4 years for sure," Ramesh tweeted along with the video.
Asked about Nazeer's appointment, Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi said at a press conference, "One of your (BJP) tall leaders sadly no more with us, Arun Jaitley, on September 5, 2013 in the House and several times outside stated that 'the desire of a post-retirement job influences pre-retirement judgements. It is a threat to the Independence of the judiciary'."
He also dismissed the argument that this has happened several times earlier also so such an appointment is acceptable.
"We are not talking about persons or individuals. Personally, I have very great respect for this person (Nazeer). I know him, it is not about him at all. As a matter of principle we oppose it, as a matter of principle we believe it is a matter of great diminution and a great threat to the Independence of the judiciary for the reasons I have just quoted on the excerpt I played out," Singhvi said, referring to Jaitley's remarks.
"Therefore, we condemn it, we oppose it and we do not agree with it," the Rajya Sabha MP said.
Adequate proof of this in the past 3-4 years for sure https://t.co/33TZaGKr8x
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) February 12, 2023
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KKR defeat LSG via Super Over
Lucknow (PTI): Kolkata Knight Riders edged Lucknow Super Giants via Super Overs in a battle between two bottom-placed teams in the IPL, here on Sunday.
Chasing a modest 156, LSG suffered a batting collapse and managed to tie the contest and take it to Super Over with No. 9 Mohammed Shami striking a last-ball six against a wayward Kartik Tyagi, who leaked 16 runs in the final over.
But Sunil Narine bowled a stunning Super Over conceding just one run and taking two wickets to give KKR an easy target.
Rinku Singh then finished the chase with a boundary off first ball from Prince Yadav.
Earlier the KKR were in deep trouble with 93/7 in 15 overs but Rinku smashed a sensational 83 not out from 51 balls including four sixes in a row in the final over to lift them to 155/7.
Cameron Green (34) was the only other batter to reach double-digit scores as KKR suffered a familiar batting meltdown with Mohsin taking his maiden fifer.
In reply, LSG continued their dismal show with the bat to succumb to their fifth loss in a row.
Brief Scores:
Kolkata Knight Riders 155/7; 20 overs (Rinku Singh 83 not out, Cameron Green 34; Mohsin Khan 5/23). Lucknow Super Giants 155/8; 20 overs (Rishabh Pant 42). KKR won via Super Over.
