Refusal by former judges to serve on the search committee for the Lokpal and on the Commission to investigate the alleged "snoopgate" are examples of the Congress-led UPA being "isolated" said the Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday.
Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Arun Jaitley in a statement issued in New Delhi said the Congress-led UPA government has been unable to give credence to the Lokpal appointment and has also failed to appoint a Commission to probe the allegations of "snooping" against the party's prime ministerial nominee, Narendra Modi.
"The Gujarat Government had already constituted a Commission of Inquiry which is enquiring into the terms of reference. The object of the Central Government was political. They wanted to embarrass the Government of Gujarat and the BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi. Besides being a complete abuse of power by the Central Government, the Commission appointed by the Central Government smacked of vindictiveness and arrogance," he said.
Pointing out that none of the retired judges of Supreme Court who were approached to head the Commission were willing to be part of it, Mr. Jaitley said: "They declined to lend themselves for this politically motivated exercise. Thereafter, some retired Chief Justices of the High Courts were also approached. Apparently they also made it clear that they were not available for such an exercise. The Government had been morally isolated with nobody willing to cooperate in its colourable exercise of power."
The BJP leader said the Centre faced a similar crisis when the eminent jurists refused to be part of the Selection Committee for selecting the Chairperson and Members of the Lokpal.
"Fali S. Nariman and Justice K.T.Thomas have now refused to serve on the Search Committee citing similar reasons. They believe that the process being undertaken is not intended to select the best man for the job. It is now clear that the institution of Lokpal is being damaged even prior to its creation. When eminent and independent persons of repute are refusing to associate with the search and selection exercise while suspecting the motives of the government its moral isolation is complete.," he said.
