What's wrong in carrying pic of an elected PM on vax certificate, asks HC

: The Kerala High Court on Monday wondered what was wrong in Covid-19 vaccination certificates carrying the photograph of Prime Minister Narendra Modi when was elected to power by the people of the country.

Examining the maintainability of a plea seeking removal of the Prime Minister's picture from the certificate, Justice PV Kunhikrishnan asked the petitioner whether he was ashamed of the Prime Minister.

The judge said the Prime Minister was elected to power by the people of the country and, therefore, what was wrong in having his photograph on the certificate.

When the petitioner's counsel told the court that in other countries there was no such practice, the judge orally remarked, "They may not be proud of their PMs, we are proud of our PM."

"Why are you (petitioner) ashamed of the Prime Minister? He came to power through the mandate of the people...we may have different political views, but he is still our PM," the court further said.

The counsel for the petitioner -- Peter Myaliparampil -- said the certificate was a private space with personal details on record and therefore, it was inappropriate to intrude into the privacy of an individual.

He contended that adding the Prime Minister's photo to the certificate was an intrusion into an individual's private space.

To this, the court said more than 100 crore people of the country do not appear to have a problem with having the Prime Minister's photo on the certificate, and asked the petitioner, "Why do you?"

The court said it would examine whether the plea has any merits and if not, it would dispose of the matter.

During the more-than-an-hour long hearing, advocate Ajit Joy, appearing for the petitioner, said whether to be proud of one's Prime Minister or not was a personal choice.

Also, Joy told the court it was not a matter of political differences, as the Supreme Court has laid down guidelines for advertisements and campaigns using public money.

He said having the photo on the certificates would also influence minds of voters and this issue was raised during the recent State Assembly elections.

The Central government opposed the plea by saying it was a publicity interest litigation.

The petitioner, a senior citizen, has contended in his plea that the Prime Minister's photo on his vaccination certificate was a violation of fundamental rights.