Stick to ideology, avoid party-switching like rats, Gadkari to politicos
Nagpur, Sep 1: Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Sunday told a gathering of politicians that one should stick to an ideology and avoid party-switching like rats jumping from a sinking ship.
Incidentally, the BJP is in the midst of an influx of opposition leaders in the run-up to the Maharashtra Assembly polls likely to be held in September-October.
Gadkari was addressing a gathering at the launch of 'Political Icons of Vidarbha', a coffee table book, organised by the Lokmat group.
"I feel people in politics should clearly understand the meaning of politics. Politics is not just power politics.
Leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Lokmanya Tilak, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Veer Savarkar did not indulge in power politics," he said.
"Gandhi ji pursued samajkaran, rashtrakaran and vikaskaran (politics of society, country and development)," he said.
"Don't compromise on principles, and keep patience," he said.
He said he never thought of leaving his party even when faced with hardships, but the current situation was such that people were changing parties according to who is in power.
"People run after those who come to power. Today we are in power, they (party-hoppers) will come with us. Tomorrow if someone else attains power, they will run after them.
People just jump like rats from one side to another when a ship starts sinking," he said.
"But history will not be written by these people. It will be written by those who stuck to their ideologies despite facing hardships," the Union minister and Nagpur Lok Sabha MP asserted.
Speaking about Communist stalwart late AB Bardhan, who was Nagpur University Students Union president, Gadkari said, "I have a lot of respect for AB Bardhan though both of us followed different ideologies. He was such a dedicated leader.
His stature is unmatched when compared to any leader in Nagpur," he said.
Speaking of ideologies, Gadkari said the issue was not about differences in ideology, but about having no ideology at all.
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Cash discovery row: Allahabad High Court judge Justice Yashwant Varma resigns
New Delhi (PTI): Embattled Allahabad High Court judge Yashwant Varma, who was facing heat after wads of burnt currency notes were recovered from his residence here last year, has submitted his resignation to President Droupadi Murmu, rendering the impeachment proceedings against him as infructuous.
The purported discovery of a huge stash of cash took place after a fire broke out at Lutyens' Delhi residence of Justice Varma, then a Delhi High Court judge, at around 11:35 pm on the night of Holi on March 14, 2025, prompting the fire department personnel to rush to the spot and douse the flames.
In a letter sent to the President on April 9, the 57-year-old Justice Varma said he was tendering his resignation with "deep anguish" and it was an honour to serve the office.
"Your Excellency, While I do not propose to burden your august office with the reasons which have constrained me to submit this missive, it is with deep anguish that I hereby tender my resignation from the office of Judge of the Hon'ble High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, with immediate effect. It has been an honour to serve in this office," the resignation letter sent to the President on April 9 said.
The pending impeachment proceedings, intended to remove Varma from his office, becomes infructuous due to his resignation.
Consequently, a three-member inquiry committee comprising Supreme Court judge Justice Aravind Kumar, Madras High Court Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava and senior advocate B V Acharya was conducting an inquiry, a condition precedent, before an impeachment motion.
Justice Varma's case saw many twists and turns after he refused to heed to the advice of then CJI Sanjiv Khanna to resign following two damning reports of judges.
Left with no option, Justice Khanna wrote to the President to proceed further to impeach Justice Varma.
He was later repatriated from the Delhi High Court to the Allahabad High.
The top court on January 16 had dismissed Varma's plea challenging the Lok Sabha Speaker's decision to admit an impeachment motion and the validity of a panel set up to inquire corruption charges against him, saying a provision in law cannot be used as a weapon to scuttle parliamentary proceedings.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla admitted a multi-party motion for Justice Varma's removal on August 12 last year.
In an unprecedented move, the apex court on March 22 last year had uploaded on its website an in-house inquiry report, including photos and videos, into alleged discovery of a huge stash of cash at the residence of Justice Varma.
On March 22, 2025 then CJI Khanna had constituted a three-member committee to conduct an inquiry.
Justice Varma had "unequivocally" stated that no cash was ever placed in the storeroom "either by me or any of my family members and (I) strongly denounce the suggestion that the alleged cash belonged to us".
Justice Varma was enrolled as an advocate on August 8, 1992. He was appointed as an additional judge of the Allahabad High Court on October 13, 2014. High Court judges retire at the age of 62.
He took oath as a permanent judge of the Allahabad High Court on February 1, 2016, before being appointed as a judge of the Delhi High Court on October 11, 2021.
A judge of a constitutional court can only be removed from office through an impeachment motion passed by Parliament.
