Damage control: Congress on BJP dissociating from MPs' remarks on SC

The Congress on Sunday described the BJP disassociating itself from the criticism of the Supreme Court by its MPs Nishikant Dubey and Dinesh Sharma as "damage control" and asked why no action had been taken against the two.

Congress MP and general-secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh said the distancing of the "outgoing BJP president" (J.P. Nadda) from the "atrocious remarks" made by two MPs on the chief justice of India (CJI) carried little meaning.

"These MPs are when it comes to hate speech and are very often used by G2 to attack communities, institutions, and individuals. The outgoing BJP president's clarification is nothing but damage control," Ramesh said in a post on X.

"It will fool nobody. This is Entire Political Science reflecting itself as Entire Political Hypocrisy." he added, in a reference to PM Narendra Modi's supposed master's degree in 'entire political science' acquired in 1983 as claimed by Gujarat University, though the subject appears unavailable to other students.

But the "outgoing BJP president" is totally silent on equally unacceptable remarks on the judiciary that are continually made by one of its very distinguished appointees to a high constitutional position, Ramesh said and asked what he had to say about those remarks and if the BJP subscribed to them.

The distancing of the outgoing BJP President from the atrocious remarks made by 2 BJP MPs on the Chief Justice of India carries little meaning. These MPs are repeat offenders when it comes to hate speech and are very often used by G2 to attack communities, institutions, and…

— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) April 20, 2025

The former Union minister further asked, "If the continued silence of the prime minister on these repeated attacks on the Indian Constitution is not tacitly supportive of them, why has no action been taken against these two MPs? Has Nadda ji issued show cause notices to these two MPs?"

The BJP on Saturday disassociated itself from Dubey and Sharma's criticism of the Supreme Court, with party president Nadda calling the comments their personal views. He also affirmed the ruling party's respect for the judiciary as an inseparable part of democracy.

"The BJP has nothing to do with the comments of MPs Nishikant Dubey and Dinesh Sharma on the judiciary and the chief justice. This is their personal comments but the BJP neither agrees with them nor does it ever support such remarks. The BJP absolutely rejects them," Nadda said in a post on X.

He said he had directed both the leaders and other members of the party not to make such comments.

Earlier on Saturday, Dubey — one of the more vocal BJP members in the Lok Sabha who represents Godda in Jharkhand — launched a broadside against the Supreme Court, saying Parliament and state assemblies should be shut if the apex court had to make the laws, glossing over the fact that the SC hadn't actually made any laws, merely raised a few questions about the constitutionality of a law (the highly contentious in this case), and of government such as governors and the President of the limits imposed on their powers by the Constitution.

Dubey had also alleged that the Supreme Court was responsible for "civil wars" in the country, raising questions about why he should not be prosecuted for contempt of court.

Incidentally, it was the same Dubey whose against Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra — a thorn in the BJP's side owing to her insistent probing of the links between the Adani Group and the Union government — eventually led to her expulsion from Parliament in December 2023, before she was re-elected from Krishnanagar in west Bengal.

Sharma, a former deputy chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, was also critical of the Supreme Court, saying no one could direct Parliament or the President. Once again, an incorrect assertion, given the constitutional powers vested in the judiciary and the system of checks and balances instituted in India's polity.

Interestingly, the BJP distancing itself from Dubey's remarks has become something of a pattern. In July 2024, the party had similarly dissociated itself from Dubey's statement in the Lok Sabha, when he advocated for declaring parts of Jharkhand, West Bengal, and Bihar as a Union Territory to curb infiltration from Bangladesh. On that occasion, Jharkhand BJP president Babulal Marandi had clarified that Dubey's remarks were "personal" and did not represent the party's stance

With PTI inputs