New Delhi: The appointment of a former Supreme Court judge, Justice Abdul S Nazeer, as Governor six weeks after his retirement, has become the latest flashpoint between the Congress and the BJP, reigniting the debate over the mandatory cooling off period for judges post-retirement. The Congress has cited a remark of the late Arun Jaitley, former law minister and one of the biggest legal luminaries of the BJP, to make its case. But Kiren Rijiju, who now handles the law ministry, tweeted, "They should better understand that, they can no more treat India as their personal fiefdom".
"The Whole Eco-system is once again in full swing on the appointment of a Governor. They should better understand that, they can no more treat India as their personal fiefdom. Now, India will be guided by the people of India as per the provisions of the Constitution of India," Mr Rijiju's tweet read.
Justice Nazeer, who was part of several ground-breaking judgments including the Ayodhya Ram Janambhoomi case, demonetization and Triple Talaq, was one of the six new faces appointed as Governors by President Droupadi Murmu.
Citing the late BJP leader and former law minister Arun Jaitley's remarks against such appointments, the Congress said the move was a "great threat" to the independence of the judiciary.
Congress general secretary and communications in-charge Jairam Ramesh tweeted the video of Arun Jaitley's comment in 2012 that "pre-retirement judgements are influenced by post-retirement jobs… It is a threat to the Independence of the judiciary".
"Adequate proof of this in the past 3-4 years for sure," read the caption added by Mr Ramesh.
"We are not talking about persons or individuals," Congress's Abhishek Manu Singhvi later clarified at a press conference, reported news agency Press Trust of India.
"Personally, I have very great respect for this person (Justice Nazeer). I know him, it is not about him at all. As a matter of principle we oppose it, as a matter of principle we believe it is a matter of great diminution and a great threat to the Independence of the judiciary," Mr Singhvi said, citing Arun Jaitley's remarks.
CPM leader and Rajya Sabha member AA Rahim also criticised the government's decision, calling it a "blot on democracy". Justice Nazeer, he added, should refuse to take up the job.
"The decision of the Union government to appoint Justice Abdul Nazeer as a Governor is not on par with the constitutional values of the country. It is highly condemnable. He (Justice Nazeer) should refuse to take up the offer. The country should not lose the confidence in its legal system. Such decisions of the Modi government are a blot on Indian democracy," Mr Rahim said in a Facebook post.
The BJP's national general secretary BL Santosh took a swipe at the opposition with a reminder that the appointment of judges as Governors is not a first.
In recent years, former Chief Justice of India Justice P Sathasivam, and former Justice M Fathima Beevi were appointed Governors. Justice Sathasivam was appointed the 21st Governor of Kerala from 5 September 2014 to 4 September 2019. M. Fathima Beevi was appointed the Governor of Tamil Nadu during the Third Front government led by HD Deve Gowda.
Before his retirement on January 4, Justice Nazeer had led the Constitution Bench that held the notes ban by the government as valid. He was also part of the bench that gave a unanimous verdict on building Ram temple at Ayodhya.
He was also part of the bench that declared 'right to privacy' a fundamental right and had delivered a minority verdict upholding instant "triple talaq".