BJP leader Subramanian Swamy today hailed Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu's decision of rejecting the impeachment notice moved by the Congress and seven other opposition parties against Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dipak Misra.
Naidu, the Rajya Sabha chairman, rejected the notice citing lack of substantial merit in it.
"The vice president should have rejected it (impeachment notice) the day it was filed because the content of the notice was made public," Swamy told PTI after coming out of the CJI's courtroom.
"He has decided correctly. Congress committed suicide by doing this," Swamy said.
The BJP leader was among the first few litigants to mention their respective petitions for urgent hearing.
He had mentioned for urgent hearing of his plea seeking enforcement of his fundamental right to worship at the disputed site at Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh.
"Anyway, it's a good decision," he said on the rejection of impeachment notice.
"Constitutional process of impeachment is set in motion with 50 MP’s giving the motion. RS Chairman can’t adjudge the motion, for he has no mandate to decide the merits of the motion. This is truly a fight between forces ‘Rejecting Democracy’ & voices ‘Rescuing Democracy’," Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said.
"Within hours of 64 MP’s submitting the impeachment motion, Leader of Rajya Sabha(FM) had expressed naked prejudice by calling it a ‘revenge petition’ virtually dictating the verdict to Rajya Sabha Chairman on that day," he said.
"Has ‘Revenge Petition’ now become ‘Rescue Order’?" Surjewala asked.
"RS Chairman can’t decide on merits in absence of quasi judicial or administrative power (M.Krishna Swami’s case). If all charges were to be proved before inquiry as RS Chairman suggests, Constitution & Judges (Inquiry) Act will have no relevance. Don’t muzzle Constitution," he added.
Venkaiah Naidu said that he had detailed personal conversation on all the aspects arising from the notice and had considered each of the allegations made in it individually as well as collectively.
"Based on all this, I have come to the conclusion that this motion does not deserve to be admitted...On careful analysis and reflection, I find there is virtually no concrete verifiable imputation," Naidu said in his order.
Reacting to the development, former Delhi High Court judge justice RS Sodhi said, "You know you don't have any ground, you know you can't impeach him (CJI). In spite of knowing all that still you go on and plunge in this ill-advised move. This can't be considered as a wise act."
(With PTI inputs)
