Congress urges HC to take cognisance of BJP chief's remarks

The Congress on Tuesday urged the Punjab and Haryana High Court to take suo motu cognisance of a news report quoting BJP President Amit Shah as allegedly suggesting that the CBI Special Court Judge was responsible for August 25 Panchkula violence and investigate the report's veracity.

"According to the news report, Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah suggested that CBI Special Court Judge, who was hearing the rape case against Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, was responsible for the violence in Panchkula town of Haryana following the court verdict.

"He further went on to say that the Judge was requested to either postpone the judgement or possibly shift the court," Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said.

"Till today, this report has not been denied by the BJP or its President," he added.

The Congress leader posed three questions: "Was the crowd allowed to assemble outside the court premises with the explicit intent of trying to intimidate the judiciary? Were the highest echelons of Haryana government and the BJP involved in this conspiracy of intimidation? If you unleash street power and mobocracy in order to intimidate judiciary or attempt to intimidate it, isn't it the worst form of fascism?"

Tewari said: "These are very disturbing portents for Indian democracy. We urge the High Court to take suo motu cognisance of the news report and investigate its veracity.

"Even if there is an iota of truth in it, it has very dangerous implications for Indian democracy in the days to come."

--IANS

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