Barely 24 hours after the Supreme Court declared the right to privacy a fundamental right, Kapil Sibal, senior lawyer and Congress leader, tweeted targeting the Union government.
“History will never forgive Narendra Modi’s government for their opposition to the most fundamental of all rights: the right to privacy,” said Mr. Sibal in a tweet on Friday.
Two landmark Supreme Court judgments, delivered in a span of two days, have become a subject of intense political debate.
Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah tweeted to check how many Union Ministers had congratulated the Supreme Court on the right to privacy verdict.
“Any Central government Ministers congratulating the Supreme Court for the right to privacy judgment like the triple talaq one,” he asked.
Warning signal
Congress leader Salman Khursid, who had assisted the Supreme Court in the triple talaq case, used a Hindi idiom to convey that “institutions of democracy were sending a warning signal to the Modi government”.
The series of tweets on the right to privacy verdict were actually a counter to those on triple talaq.
“U.P. has the highest number of triple talaq, crores of Muslim women were rejoicing the freedom and thanking Prime Minister Modi,” said Siddharth Nath Singh, Health Minister in the Uttar Pradesh government when the judgment was passed.
U.P. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath credited the Modi government for the talaq judgment “as it took a firm stand on the issue in court”.
Mr. Sibal, who represented the All India Muslim Personal Law Board in the triple talaq case and the Congress-ruled States such as Karnataka and Punjab in the right to privacy case, said both verdicts were in the party’s favour.
“In the triple talaq case, we had condemned the practice of instant talaq, but the government wanted the court to rule even with regard to Muslim men being allowed to marry more than once. We argued that it can be done only by making a law and the court order protects the personal law of all communities,” Mr. Sibal told The Hindu .
BJP leaders countered it by saying “there should not be any politics over the top court’s order”.
Nalin Kohli, senior Supreme Court lawyer and BJP spokesperson, said, “Whether it is the triple talaq or the right to privacy, the Congress will do well not to project it as a victory or loss for anyone. The triple talaq verdict expands the rights of our Muslim sisters and is not a religious matter.”
