Gogoi Takes Oath Amid ‘Shame, Shame’ Chants; Grossly Unfair, Says RS Prasad

Ravi Sankar Prasad slammed the opposition MPs and said, "Rajya Sabha has a great tradition of many eminent persons coming from diverse fields, including former CJIs. Gogoi who has taken oath today will surely contribute his best. It was grossly unfair to do like that."

New Delhi: As former Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi took oath as a member of the Rajya Sabha on Thursday, Congress MPs chanted ‘shame shame!’ criticising the passage of the former CJI from the judiciary to the legislative. Justice Gogoi was behind the Ayodhya landmark judgment. The Congress MPs also staged a walkout.

The appointment drew criticism. “Our Constitution is based on the separation of powers of the judiciary and the executive. The judiciary thrives on the perception of Aastha (belief) and Vishwas (faith). But all of them have taken the beating,” said Congress’s Abhishek Manu Singhvi.

On Tuesday, Justice Gogoi said that he would explain the reason why he accepted the offer.

Ravi Sankar Prasad slammed the opposition MPs and said, “Rajya Sabha has a great tradition of many eminent persons coming from diverse fields, including former CJIs. Gogoi who has taken oath today will surely contribute his best. It was grossly unfair to do like that.”