Rajya Sabha secretariat verifies 45 of 54 signatures on notice to bring motion for Justice Shekhar Yadav ouster
NEW DELHI: The Rajya Sabha secretariat has verified signatures of 45 of the 54 MPs on a notice for a motion to remove Justice Shekhar Yadav of Allahabad high court over his "hate speech", while nine MPs are yet to do so.
Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram's signature verification was received by RS Secretariat on Tuesday, sources said.
A motion for removal of a judge can be moved in Rajya Sabha only after 50 MPs sign the same. For Lok Sabha, signatures of 100 MPs are needed. The Constitution states that a judge can be removed after both Houses of Parliament approve the motion with two-thirds majority of the members present.
According to RS sources, the nine MPs whose signatures have not been verified yet and who are yet to respond to email queries are Kapil Sibal (Ind), Sushmita Dev (TMC), Jose K Mani and GC Chandrashekhar (Cong), Faiyaz Ahmad (RJD), Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharyya (CPM), Raghav Chadha and Sanjeev Arora (AAP), and NR Elango (DMK). Sibal has denied receiving any email from RS Secretariat. tnn
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The party that once chanted slogans of freedom jailed its own citizens for demanding it. Courtroom verdict that shook a PM The seeds of the Emergency were sown in a courtroom. In the 1971 Lok Sabha elections, Indira Gandhi secured a massive win from Rae Bareli. But her victory was contested by Raj Narain, a socialist leader, who accused her of electoral fraud. On 12 June 1975, the Allahabad High Court found her guilty and declared her election void. The verdict disqualified her from holding office for six years. Her political legitimacy stood shattered. And rather than stepping down, she chose to strike at the very roots of democracy. Gandhi advised then-President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed to declare an Emergency. The order was signed in haste on the night of 25 June. The people of India went to sleep in a free country and woke up in a dictatorship. Also read: JP wasn't a saviour of Constitution. 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India's soul was under arrest. The people answer back Despite the repression, the people did not forget. And when given the chance, they responded with courage. On 21 March 1977, the Emergency was lifted. In the elections that followed, the Congress faced the full force of public anger. The Janata Party coalition swept to power. Indira Gandhi lost her seat in Rae Bareli to Raj Narain, the very man whose challenge had triggered the crisis. Congress was wiped out in states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. For the first time, Indians realised that change was possible. That a Congress-free India was not a dream, but a choice. Has the Congress changed? The short answer is no. The same mindset that led to the Emergency still lingers in the Congress party today. It still believes in power without accountability. It still believes that only one family has the right to lead. Time and again, it has sidelined deserving leaders in favour of dynastic loyalty. Time and again, it has sidelined capable leaders in favour of dynastic loyalty. A telling example is that of Jyotiraditya Scindia. After the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, despite being a promising young leader from Madhya Pradesh and a loyal member of the party, he was kept away from key decision-making and denied major responsibilities. Eventually, disillusioned, he left the Congress to join the BJP in 2020, and now serves as a Union minister. This episode clearly reflects the Congress' persistent preference for family over merit. The Congress that once dominated Indian politics now barely holds on. It governs in only a few states. In many parts of the country, it has no presence at all. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, it contested 328 seats, but could win only 99. In several constituencies, it finished third or lower. This is not just a story of electoral defeat, it is a story of losing touch with the people. Also read: Alienating Hindus broke Congress. It must win them back to survive Emergency is a warning, not a memory Today, 50 years later, the Emergency still haunts our collective memory. It is a reminder that freedom cannot be taken for granted. That institutions must be protected. That democracy needs not just elections, but accountability, courage, and truth. Had Congress respected democracy after Independence, India could have marched forward much faster. Instead, decades were lost to a politics of control, fear, and division. The India we see today – confident, growing, respected across the world – is not the result of Emergency-style governance. It is the result of restoring people's trust, empowering citizens, and putting the nation first. The Emergency was not just a political blunder. It was a betrayal. The Congress party tried to erase the very idea of democracy in India. That cannot be forgotten. It should never be forgiven. Those who hijacked MK Gandhi's name have no right to speak about freedom. It is time they apologise to the nation. It is time they step aside. Only then will India's democracy truly be complete. S Vishnu Vardhan Reddy is Vice President, BJP Andhra Pradesh. He tweets @SVishnuReddy. Views are personal. (Edited by Aamaan Alam Khan)
