To browbeat and bully others is vintage Congress culture”: PM Modi on lawyers’ letter to CJI

Reacting to the concerns raised by over 600 lawyers against a “vested interest group,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday took a dig at Congress and said that “to browbeat and bully others is vintage Congress culture.” “To browbeat and bully others is vintage Congress culture. 5 decades ago itself they had called for a “committed judiciary” – they shamelessly want commitment from others for their selfish interests but desist from any commitment towards the nation. No wonder 140 crore Indians are rejecting them,” PM Modi posted on X. More than 600 lawyers addressed a letter to Chief Justice of India (CJI) Justice Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud , expressing serious concerns against the actions of a specific interest group aiming to undermine the judiciary’s integrity. The letter has been signed by prominent lawyers including senior advocate Harish Salve, Manan Kumar Mishra, Adish Aggarwala, Chetan Mittal, Pinky Anand, Hitesh Jain, Ujjwala Pawar, Uday Holla and Swaroopama Chaturvedi, Bar Council of India’s Chairman Manan Kumar Mishra, Supreme Court Bar Association President Adish Aggarwala, among others. This group, according to the lawyers, is employing pressure tactics to influence judicial outcomes, particularly in cases involving political figures and corruption allegations. These actions, they argue, pose a significant threat to the democratic fabric and the trust placed in judicial processes. The lawyers highlighted several concerning methods, including the propagation of false narratives about a ‘golden era’ of the judiciary, aimed at discrediting current proceedings and undermining public confidence in the courts.