CJI impeachment move as Cong's conspiracies were exposed: BJP

The BJP today lashed out at the Congress for its move to impeach the chief justice of India, saying it was trying to "demean, degrade and denigrate" the judiciary after its "conspiracies" in the case of judge B H Loya's death and riot charges against its Gujarat leader Maya Kodnani were exposed.

BJP spokesperson Meenakshi Lekhi told reporters that the impeachment move is an attempt to pressure the judiciary and send out the message that "either you do what we say and if you dare not do as we command", then it will impeach judges.

She said Kodnani, who was acquitted by the Gujarat High Court today, was victimised by the Congress and implicated in a "false case" when it was in power at the Centre as it wanted to implicate the saffron party's leaders in false cases.

"It also hatched a conspiracy in the judge Loya death case. Evidence in these cases could not stand the judicial scrutiny. The Congress and other opposition parties levelled false allegations against our leaders but they are getting exposed now," she said.

Whether it was petitions for a probe into the Loya death case or the charges against Kadnani, they were all fabricated cases, she said.

The Constitution envisaged by B R Ambedkar views the judiciary independent of policies but the Congress is trying to politicise it.

As the opposition party is losing political ground, it has resorted to such pressure tactics motivated by "malice", Lekhi said.

It is an attempt to demean, degrade and denigrate the judiciary, she said.

The Supreme Court had yesterday dismissed a batch of petitions seeking probe to judge Loya's death, saying he died of natural cases.

The Gujarat High Court acquitted Kodnani, a former minister in the state government, in the 2002 Naroda Patiya riots case in which 97 people were killed by a mob.