Union Minister Kiren Rijiju on Monday launched a sharp attack on the Congress following a controversial post by the Kerala Congress targeting Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant.
Sharing a screenshot of the now-deleted tweet on X (formerly Twitter), Rijiju stated that the post only proves what he has been saying all along - that after targeting the Election Commission, the judiciary will be the next target of the Congress.
"Congress wants to destroy all the constitutional and democratic institutions of India. All Anti-India gangs are joining hands. All patriotic Indians will also come together," his post read.
Kerala Congress Post On CJI Surya Kant Triggers Political Controversy
The row erupted over a tweet from the official handle of Kerala Congress, which included a message addressing the Chief Justice, "Dear Surya Kant, if law and order is not your domain, resign now. We will find your replacement who can handle it."
The remark came in response to comments made by CJI Surya Kant earlier in the day.
When asked by reporters on the sidelines of an event about the recent protests in Delhi and the related restrictions imposed across the national capital, he had said, "Yeh law and order ka mudda hai. Ye mera vishay nahin hai (This is a law-and-order issue. It is not my domain)."
The capital had turned into a fortress over the weekend due to protests by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. More than 20,000 security personnel were deployed across Delhi, entry and exit gates of several metro stations were closed, and traffic advisories were issued.
Kerala Congress Deletes Tweet And Removes Worker
Following widespread criticism, the Kerala Congress deleted the post. Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president Sunny Joseph said that immediate action had been taken against the person responsible.
"The person responsible for an objectionable post against Supreme Court Chief Justice Surya Kant on the party's official X account has been removed from the position," Joseph said.
He further said, "The post was published without the knowledge, consent or consultation of the KPCC leadership. The KPCC will examine the circumstances under which the post was published. The Congress party has no disagreement with the impartiality of the judiciary. Social media posts expressing views contrary to this position do not reflect the stand of the KPCC leadership."
BJP Targets Congress
Despite the deletion, screenshots of the post were widely circulated on social media, drawing condemnation from several BJP leaders.
"These anarchists are coming for the judiciary next. If you lose elections, attack the Election Commission. If a judgement goes against you, gun for the Court. These people are preaching constitutionalism to us?" BJP MP Tejasvi Surya posted.
BJP national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi also slammed the post, stating, "The Congress-led Kerala government—specifically the Kerala unit of the Congress—made a highly condemnable post on X, in which words like 'Dear Surya Kant' were used to address the Hon'ble Chief Justice of the Supreme Court."
"Either he (Rahul Gandhi) has lost his mental balance, or he is being manipulated by dubious forces to such an extent that he is willing to stoop to any level just to create chaos on the streets of India," Trivedi added.
(With Inputs From PTI)