The Hindu : National : Protect Parliament prestige: Brinda Karat

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Wednesday, Oct 18, 2006
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Protect Parliament prestige: Brinda Karat

Special Correspondent

Says there is "increasing interference" by judiciary in legislative issues

AHMEDABAD: The Communist Party of India (Marxist) Polit Bureau member, Brinda Karat, MP, has alleged that there was "increasing interference" by the judiciary in the affairs of the legislature and urged her party-supported UPA Government at the Centre to take necessary steps to protect the prestige of Parliament.

Ms. Karat was talking to media persons here on Tuesday during a day's visit to Gujarat to address a rally of tribals at Santrampur in the Panchamahals district.

Ms. Karat cited two recent examples to support her contention: the Supreme Court's directive on Monday to place before it in a sealed cover the report of the Parliament standing committee on the OBC quota bill, and last week's verdict of the Gujarat High Court on the U. C. Bannerjee committee report, which it held illegal and unconstitutional, and restrained the Government from placing its report on the Godhra train carnage before Parliament.

Pointing out that the standing committee of the MPs, of which she herself was a member, was responsible to Parliament and not to the Supreme Court, she wondered how the apex court could issue a directive not to place its report before the legislature. She said she also failed to understand how the Gujarat High Court could impose a ban on placing the Bannerjee committee's report before the representatives of the people whatever might be the status of the committee and the merits of the judgment.

She said her party would urge Railway Minister Lalu Prasad to appeal against the High Court judgment in the Supreme Court at least on the ground of the judiciary restraining the legislature from its right to know the findings of the committee.

She criticised Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's demand for the Railway Minister's resignation on the basis of the High Court judgment and said the person who refused to resign even after the apex court's strong strictures against him over the handling of the riots in the State in 2002 had no moral right to do so.

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