Why was Kiren Rijiju replaced? 'Victory of the judicial system', claims opposition

Tribune Web Desk

Vibha Sharma

Chandigarh, May 18

In a surprise decision, Bikaner MP and Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal today replaced Law Minister with independent charge Kiren Rijiju who was shifted to relatively lower profile Earth Sciences Ministry.

While BJP leaders calledit a “routine” decision with some leaders also linking it to the upcoming Rajasthan elections (Meghwal is from Rajasthan), opposition parties, including the Congress, read it as an attempt to “placate” an upset judiciary, linking it with judgements in a recent and upcoming cases, calling Rijiju a “failed law minister”.

Rijiju on his part said it had been his privilege to serve as the Minister of Law and Justice.

While thanking Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the much vocal critic of the Collegium system also expressed gratitude to the Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and other judges.

“I thank Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, all Judges of Supreme Court, Chief Justices and Judges of High Courts, Lower Judiciary and entire Law officers for the huge support in ensuring delivering ease of Justice and providing legal services for our citizens,” he said.

Rijiju, who served as the Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Youth Affairs and Sports from May 2019 to July 2021, took over the Law Ministry in July 2021.

Flashback Ravi Shankar Prasad

Rijiju replaced Ravi Shankar Prasad whose removal was linked to his public showdowns with social media giants like Twitter and Facebook.

Observers say Prasad made it look like a personal fight with the social media giants, making statements perceived as "arrogant and arbitrary" allowing the social platforms to play the victim.

It was a huge embarrassment to PM Modi, who always counsel his ministers that their efforts should be to ensure that their work shines instead of them, say observers.

His advice to his ministers has always been to avoid making unnecessary statements and channelise energies into ministerial work, not self-promotion, sources added.

Attempt to placate the judiciary?

The fact of the matter is that Rijiju had been quite vocal in his criticism of the Collegium system, making several controversial statements about the system and the judges.

He said the controversy over appointment of judges to the higher courts will remain till the system is in place, calling it ‘uncle judge’ syndrome. “In the Collegium, they discuss only those judges that they know. Judges that they don’t know won’t be recommended,” he had said.

“Since the Collegium came into the picture, three senior judges in the high courts decide who will become the next judges of the high courts, and they send names for the same. For the Supreme Court judges, five senior most judges decide on the name. They will only decide on names that are within their knowledge or their jurisdiction. The Collegium has created the situation where the judges will take names of only those that they know,” Rijiju said in an interview with a news channel.

His remarks on some retired judges being part of an anti-India gang also evoked strong reactions.

The appointment of judges became a major flashpoint between the two major pillars of democracy and his criticism was seen as a direct reflection of the government’s view point.

Whether it was an attempt to improve the relations, according to Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal “it was not easy to understand the science behind the laws”.

“Not law, now Minister for Earth Sciences. It is not easy to understand the science behind the laws. Now (he) will try to grapple with the laws of science. Good luck my friend!” he said.

Was the recent Maharashtra decision also a reason?

Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi wondered if the recent Supreme Court judgment on Maharashtra or the Gautam Adani investigation by SEBI were the reasonsfor theremoval.

The SC has given SEBI time till August 14 to complete its probe into allegations by US-based short seller Hindenburg Research against Adani Group of companies.

“Is it because of the Maharashtra judgement embarrassment? Or the Modani-SEBI investigation?” she said.

In a unanimous verdict on a batch of pleas related to the political crisis that led to the fall of the Uddhav Thackeray-led MVA government in Maharashtra following a revolt by the Shiv Sena faction led by Eknath Shinde, the apex court said the communication expressing discontent among some MLAs is not sufficient for the governor to call for a floor test. It also held that the governor cannot enter the political arena and floor test is not a tool to decide internal party disputes.

Her party colleague Sanjay Raut claimed the central government had taken note of the judiciary's “resentment” to Kiren Rijiju and hence he has been moved from the law ministry, calling it a “victory of the judicial system”.

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