New Delhi, Jul 18 (PTI): Dismissing Kapil Sibal as an "average lawyer", Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Friday said Parliament cannot be dictated by one MP's "personal agenda".
Rijiju's attack came after Sibal said the opposition must not support any move by the government to impeach Justice Yashwant Varma till an inquiry is set up under impeachment proceedings against Justice Shekhar Yadav for his "communal" remarks.
"I got information about Kapil Sibal's effort to protect somebody and to move against somebody. What I have realised is that Kapil Sibal is a senior person, but he is only driven by his personal agenda.
"He doesn't have a concern for anybody. I have requested him to also spend some time in Parliament. He thinks that he can sermonise the MPs and then go back to court," Rijiju told PTI in an interview when asked about Sibal's remarks on the removal of the judges concerned.
The Union minister said. "He (Sibal) does not realise that many MPs have gone far beyond him in terms of understanding, intellectuality, in terms of knowledge. The far super citizen, he is a very average lawyer, but he has been put into such a thing... that he is the person who will shed light on everything. He can't guide the Parliament of India."
Noting that Parliament will be guided by all its members, Rijiju said, "We will not be driven by one lawyer MP's agenda. We are not here to set an agenda or drive an agenda. We are working purely in the interest of the country."
"Why should one person be running around? He has no business guiding Parliament. Parliament is to be guided by all the members combined," the minister said.
The Parliamentary Affairs minister said he would not take a stand on the issue of the removal motion of any judge or any proposal in hand because the Parliament session is going to begin on July 21.
Rijiju asserted that Parliament is the only forum to remove a judge of the Supreme Court or the High Courts, and that is the rule.
They cannot be removed by any other platform because Parliament is the highest elected platform, he noted, adding that the people of India elect their representatives in Parliament.
Sibal has been vocal on the petition for the removal of Justice Shekhar Yadav, signed by 55 Rajya Sabha MPs of several opposition parties, which he claimed has been pending since December 2024. He has also accused the government of "trying to protect" Justice Yadav.
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New Delhi (PTI): "I will look into it," Chief Justice of India B R Gavai assured on Wednesday when a plea relating to stray dogs was mentioned for urgent hearing in the Supreme Court.
The plea by the Conference for Human Rights (India) was mentioned before a bench of the chief justice and Justice K Vinod Chandran by a lawyer.
Another bench has already passed an order in relation to stray dogs, the CJI pointed out.
On August 11, a bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan observed that instances of dog bites had given rise to an "extremely grim" situation and ordered the permanent relocation of all strays in Delhi-NCR "at the earliest".
On Wednesday, the lawyer referred to a May 2024 order passed by a bench led by Justice J K Maheshwari relegating petitions relating to the stray dog issue to respective high courts.
The CJI then assured that he will look into it.
The plea by Conference for Human Rights (India) claims the Animal Birth Control (Dog) Rules, 2001 mandating regular sterilisation and immunisation programmes for stray dogs to curtail their growing population are not being complied with.
In its August 11 ruling, the apex court also said dog shelters will have to be augmented over time and directed Delhi authorities to start with creating shelters of around 5,000 canines within six to eight weeks.
Besides, the bench warned of strict action against an individual or organisation in case of any kind of obstruction in the relocation drive that might also prompt the court to initiate contempt proceedings.