'Bringing Back Indira Gandhi era...': Asaduddin Owaisi Warns Modi Govt Amid Tussle With Judiciary

New Delhi: AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi on Wednesday said the Narendra Modi government is bringing back the "Indira Gandhi era" as he referred to a tug of war over the process of appointment of judges and raised concerns over those holding constitutional posts commenting on the "basic structure" of the Constitution. Participating in a debate on the Motion of Thanks on the President's address, Owaisi also accused the government of not doing enough for the minorities and raised concerns over the India-China border situation. "People on constitutional posts are commenting on the basic structure... The law minister has made comments on collegium... When the NJAC (National Judicial Appointments Commission) Bill came I was the only MP who said it would be against the basic structure of the Constitution," Owaisi said.

"You should learn a lesson from Indira Gandhi. Indira Gandhi said the judiciary should follow her, now PM Modi is saying the judiciary should be loyal to him..."
"You are bringing back the same Indira Gandhi era," he said.

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The judiciary and the executive have been engaged in a tug of war over the process of appointment of judges of the Supreme Court and high courts. Owaisi also accused the government of not doing enough for the minorities and said the budget for minorities has been slashed by 40 per cent.

"The minorities who make up 19 per cent of the population were not even mentioned in the President's speech," he said. "The Narendra Modi government does not want Muslim children to study, they want them to be victims of poverty," he said. Owaisi also mentioned Bilkis Bano and said, "She has been fighting for 20 years, but justice has been denied to her because her name is Bilkis Bano".

Bilkis Bano, who was gang-raped and seven members of her family killed during the 2002 Gujarat riots, has approached the Supreme Court against the remission of the sentence of 11 convicts. Talking about the India-China border situation, the AIMIM MP alleged the government is "scared of China".

"Would the prime minister take the name of China? It was said that out of 65 patrolling points, India cannot do patrolling on 26 patrolling points. You are scared of China. Disengagement happened. When will de-escalation and de-induction happen?" he asked.