Rahul Gandhi Shouldn’t Fight Political Battles Through Corridors of Court: Ravi Shankar Prasad on SC Verdict on Judge Loya Death

SC judgement has evoked reaction from the BJP with most party leaders demanding an apology.

New Delhi, April 19: Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said here on Thursday that Rahul Gandhi should not fight political battles through the corridors of Court. The Minister was reacting to the observation of the Supreme Court bench, hearing the plea for an independent probe in the Judge Loya death case, that political battles must be fought on political ground. Prasad said that the court’s observation meant that the case was fought as a political battle against BJP chief Amit Shah.

Prasad said the case had not been made out to serve public interest; it was meant to damage the interest of the BJP and of its chief Amit Shah in particular. The BJP has been demanding an apology from the Congress chief ever since the SC bench quashed a batch of pleas seeking an SIT probe in the death of the judge who was hearing the Sohrabuddin fake encounter case that involved Amit Shah as well. In Lucknow, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath reiterated Prasad’s demand and sought an apology from Rahul. He said the PIL stood for Political Interest Litigation.

Adding his voice to the demand for an apology from the Congress, Minister of State Dr Jitendra Singh said, “If you’re doing the credentials of the judiciary, then you’re also doubting the credentials of all the investigation & evidence. I think Rahul Gandhi should apologise to Amit Shah.”

Elsewhere, BJP spokesperson Chandra Mohan reacted to Rahul Gandhi’s tirade against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Yogi during his three-day visit to the state and said nobody took the Congress president seriously. Calling many of Rahul’s remarks “childish”, he said that because of his many “acts of immarity”, like standing in an ATM queue post-demonetisation or displaying a torn kurta, Rahul was the laughing stock for the public. “At best, his statements entertain the people…nobody takes him seriously,” he said.

Meanwhile, registering his unhappiness with the Supreme Court verdict, Congress spokesperson RS Surjewala said the verdict marked a sad day in India’s history. “The Supreme Court has left many questions unanswered. There were discrepancies in the postmortem report; even in recording the name of the victim properly,” he said.