The Janata Dal (United) on Tuesday said Rahul Gandhi and other opposition leaders seek political mileage through their march to the Supreme Court. Spokesperson Rajeev Ranjan Prasad said, "You are creating confusion to seek political mileage." The party added that the opposition should follow the judicial process for pending matters.
The Janata Dal (United) on Tuesday accused Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and other opposition leaders of trying to gain political mileage through their march to the Supreme Court, saying the issues they raised are already pending before the court. The party said the opposition should follow the judicial process instead of creating confusion over matters already under consideration.
The remarks came a day after protests over the opposition's "vote theft" charge reached the Supreme Court. Opposition leaders, along with activists and civil society members, took out a "March for Democracy" on a heavily barricaded route and filed a joint petition against SIR and alleged poll irregularities in a major show of strength in the national capital.
JD(U) national spokesperson Rajeev Ranjan Prasad told PTI that the opposition should rely on the legal process instead of seeking "political mileage". "The Chief Justice of India (CJI) has said that the issues for which they wanted to meet him have already been raised in petitions before the Supreme Court. Several petitions pending before the court also mention these matters," he said.
Prasad said the CJI had also indicated that meeting the opposition leaders would go against constitutional propriety and advised them to approach the court through the judicial process. "You are creating confusion to seek political mileage. The defects in the petitions have also come to light because of the ruckus and haste," he said.
He said the judiciary commands respect across the world and parties on both sides of the political divide are expected to uphold its dignity. He also questioned the purpose of Gandhi's invitation to INDIA bloc MPs, civil society members and student organisations for tea at his residence on Tuesday. "There is little relevance of this high tea, as the petitions concerning the issues on which you wanted the court's attention are already under consideration," he told PTI. In essence, JD(U) maintained that the opposition's concerns are already before the Supreme Court and should be pursued through established judicial channels.