The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Tamil Nadu on Tuesday strongly condemned the decision by the INDIA bloc to initiate impeachment proceedings against G. R. Swaminathan, a judge of the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court, calling it a direct attempt to intimidate and undermine the judiciary.According to BJP state president Nainar Nagenthran, the impeachment notice is a “shameful and politically motivated” move meant to punish the judge for upholding what the party described as the cultural rights of Tamils. He warned that such pressure tactics against judicial independent institutions would be firmly rejected by the people.
Nagenthran referenced the dark days of the Emergency, saying the nation still “shudders at the memory” of constitutional rights being subverted — implying that the impeachment attempt echoes those undemocratic practices. He also accused ruling and opposition parties in Tamil Nadu of using judicial condemnation as a tool for “minority appeasement politics.”
The BJP argued that the impeachment bid amounted to “instilling fear in the minds of judges” and undermining judicial independence, which they said is a cornerstone of Indian democracy. The party vowed that any attempt to weaken democratic institutions would be opposed by the ruling alliance at the Centre, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).