Not so judgemental
Those who thought the recently retired Justice Kurian Joseph would be critical of the Prime Minister’s visit to the Supreme Court and his peek at Court No. 1 were in for a surprise. At an interactive session -- a public interview of sorts -- organised by veteran Supreme Court lawyer Indira Jaisingh’s legal news portal, The Leaflet, Joseph was in fact critical of the critics for “blowing a routine event out of proportion”. Joseph recounted the many occasions that he has visited the Prime Minister’s residence while still in the judiciary, along with the CJI of the day and other judges.
The independence of the judiciary from the pale of the executive, he noted, was not dependent on such innocuous interactions on formal occasions. When the executive still holds the levers of appointment of judges, and post-retirement carrots, the occasional interactions should hardly be seen as an offence, he said. Modi became the first Prime Minister to visit the Supreme Court as a guest of the CJI for the recent BIMSTEC conference. The Court No.1 was also opened late in the evening on the PM’s request. He sat in the first row, meant for arguing senior counsel, and had a cup of tea.
Shah upset
BJP president Amit Shah, it seems, is quite upset with the shoddy manner in which the Bengal BJP leaders, particularly state president Dilip Ghosh, handled the rath yatra issue. What’s more, it brought to the fore the severe factional feud between two groups in the Bengal unit. One side, comprising national observer Kailash Vijayvargiya and Mukul Roy, was not in favour to the yatra or its timing.
The other faction, led by Ghosh, was hell-bent on seeing it done, to prove his credentials to the central leadership. So much so that Ghosh was even ready to defy the Calcutta High Court directive. However, an angry Shah sent stern messages to the state leadership that he would not tolerate such indiscipline. Meanwhile, another top BJP strategist claimed the yatra was not planned properly. That, instead of taking on the courts or going for an appeal, the party should have held small meetings in every district.
No Mandir Bill
The winter session of Parliament is unlikely to see any legislative move on the Ram mandir issue. Citing BJP chief Amit Shah’s comment, two top Cabinet ministers indicated that the Government would rather wait for the court verdict. An earlier ordinance brought by the Narasimha Rao Cabinet had been rejected by the courts. Though the treasury is convinced that no party other than the Left would dare oppose a Ram mandir bill, it may create an aggravated, emotive atmosphere that may derail the passing of four other ordinances, including the one to make Triple Talaq a penal offence.
Goel’s lunch
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Vijay Goel’s customary winter lunch saw all kinds of Delhi savouries lined up. Goel is known for his deep connect with the vegetarian cuisine of old Delhi. But what caught everyone’s eye was the two sets of seating arrangements. For Home Minister Rajnath Singh, the table was laid out in formal Hyderabad House style and for FM Arun Jaitley it was a durbar.
Singh is a man of few words who weighs every sentence he utters, while Jaitley is gregarious and known for his amiable relation with the media and his anecdotal story-telling. Jaitley’s table was also laid out to ensure that he is at a distance from the other guests, mostly from the media, since he’s still recovering from his surgery. Once a foodie, Jaitley carried his own sanitised cup of tea from home.