HYDERABAD: Former Supreme Court judge Justice J Chelameswar on Wednesday said that the people in the country’s upper echelons suffer from sycophancy and hypocrisy. Pointing out the epilogue of the book on Mughal history by Abraham Eraly, in which he said that sycophancy and hypocrisy were characteristic traits of ruling class during the Mughal rule, the former Supreme Court judge said that the present ruling class in India is no different and still practices it.
Unfortunately in India, people hold one opinion in their drawing rooms and something else in public life, he said. Giving an example, he said that after he held the controversial press conference, many people congratulated him for speaking out but at the same time asked him not to tell anyone that they called him to support his act.
The retired SC judge was speaking at a symposium held in view of the upcoming 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi at the Golden Threshold here organised by Prasar Bharati in collaboration with the University of Hyderabad.
Regarding the press conference, Chelameswar said that he felt there was a fault in the system which he tried to point out many times. Only when he realised that things are not changing despite faults of the system being pointed out, he decided to come out and tell it to the people, in the hope that it will help rectify the faults.