Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju criticizes Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his comment on sedition laws
Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju criticized Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his comment on sedition laws. In a series of tweets, Mr Rijiju said, if there is one party that is the antithesis of freedom, democracy and respect for institutions, it is the Indian National Congress. He said, the party has always stood with forces that try to break the country and left no opportunity to divide India.
The Law Minister pointed out that it was none other than Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, who brought in the First Amendment and it was Syama Prasad Mookerjee and the Jana Sangh which opposed the measure aimed at curtailing freedom of expression.
Mr Rijiju said, later the then Prime Minister Ms Indira Gandhi came up with the idea of a Committed Judiciary to weaken the Judiciary, the third pillar. He said, it was the Indira Gandhi Government which made Section 124 A a cognisable offence for the first time in India’s history.
The Law Minister said, this happened in the new Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 which came into force in 1974. He asked whether Congress has checked its own past actions. He also said, UPA Government has the worst track record of filing sedition cases.
Mr Rijiju said, in 2012, thousands of people had sedition cases filed against them under the watchful eyes of Recounting Minister P. Chidambaram.
Earlier in the day senior Congress Leader Rahul Gandhi had opined that speaking truth is patriotism, and not treason, after the Supreme Court stayed Sedition laws.
