NEW DELHI—Expressing serious concern over rising incidents of hate speech and calls for genocide against Muslims, former Supreme Court Judge Justice Rohinton Nariman has alleged that the ruling party is endorsing it.
Justice Rohinton made the remarks while delivering keynote address on “Constitutional Underpinnings of the Rule of Law” in Mumbai.
He said that while students and comedians were booked under sedition laws, authorities were reluctant to book cases against those who gave hate speeches and gave a call for genocide against Muslims. He said sedition laws, remnants of the British colonial rule, needed to be done away with.
Justice Nariman said that silence of senior leaders of the ruling dispensation over hate speeches was unfortunate.
“We also unfortunately have higher echelons of the ruling party not only being silent qua hate speech but also almost endorsing it,” Bar and Bench quoted Justice Rohinton to have said.
However, he expressed satisfaction that vice-president Venkaiah Naidu rejected the hate speech and said it was unconstitutional.
He also took umbrage at contrasting a Mughal emperor like Aurangzeb for being a bigot as against Shivaji who was known to be secular leader. “We heard the other day from the very head of the party a juxtaposition of a Mughal emperor known for being a bigot, namely, Aurangzeb as against Shivaji who was known to be a secular leader,” Justice Nariman said.
Justice Nariman suggested that the ruling party supremo should have, instead, chosen the names of Babur or Akbar keeping in view the tenets of brotherhood envisaged by the Constitution. He said that Akbar, the grandson of Babur, was the most secular leader anywhere in the world.
Justice Nariman also quoted from a letter Babur had written to Humayun to refrain cow slaughter and to dispense justice according to the tenets of each community in multi-religious India.
This story first appeared on indiatomorrow.net
