'To browbeat and bully others is vintage Congress culture', says PM Modi on lawyers' letter to CJI

Reacting to an open letter to the Chief Justice of India, D.Y. Chandrachud, which was signed by over 600 advocates on Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that to "browbeat and bully others is the vintage culture of the Congress".

The country's top advocates, including Harish Salve, Pinky Anand, Manan Kumar Mishra, Chetan Mittal, Hitesh Jain, and many others, sent an open letter to the CJI on Thursday morning, expressing their concern over the attempts made by vested interest groups trying to put pressure on the judiciary, influence the judicial process, and defame the courts, particularly in the politically sensitive cases.

Throwing his weight behind the hundreds of lawyers protesting against such vested interests, PM Modi pointed out how the Congress wanted a 'committed judiciary' five decades ago but is now resorting to 'bullying tactics' for selfish interests.

Taking to X, PM Modi wrote, "5 decades ago itself they had called for a 'committed judiciary' - they shamelessly want commitment from others for their selfish interests but desist from any commitment towards the nation."

"No wonder 140 crore Indians are rejecting them," PM Modi added, in a veiled dig at the grand old party's flagging fortunes as the latter gets overpowered by its allies in the seat-sharing talks for the ensuing Lok Sabha elections.

The open letter, dated March 26, said, "Their pressure tactics are most obvious in the political cases, particularly those involving political figures accused of corruption."

Though the identities of the vested interest groups remain unclear, the lawyers claimed, "A false narrative of supposed 'better past' and 'golden period' of the courts, contrasting it with the happenings in the present, was being presented. These are nothing but intentional statements, made to sway court decisions and to embarrass the courts for certain political gains."

The letter said, "It's troubling to see some lawyers defending politicians by the day, and then trying to influence judges through the media at night."

(With inputs from IANS)