Patna : Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav condemned the recent attempt to throw a shoe at Chief Justice of India (CJI) BR Gavai, and said that the incident is the "evil consequence" of normalising hate and violence in the country since 2014.
"A shoe was thrown at the Chief Justice himself in the Supreme Court. This is a shameful incident in our democratic and judicial history. When the person holding the country's highest judicial position has to face such humiliation right in the court, it is a matter of serious concern", Yadav said on Monday in a self-made video posted on X.
"The way hatred and violence have been normalised in the country through various means under state patronage since 2014, this is its evil consequence," Yadav stressed. Calling it an attack on the Constitution and its architect, BR Ambedkar, the RJD leader said, "This shoe was not thrown at the country's Chief Justice but at the Constitution and its architect, our revered Baba Saheb Ambedkar. Hiding behind the guise of religion, some people are spewing their venom."
Training his guns at the BJP, he questioned the party's "silence" on the issue, and called for protecting the judiciary, which is the "backbone of our democracy". "Why are the Constitution-hating and Dalit-opposing BJP members silent on this incident? The dignity of the judiciary is the backbone of our democracy--it is the responsibility of all of us to protect it", he said in his X post hindi.
Earlier on Monday, a lawyer had entered the Court No. 1 and attempted to throw a shoe at the Chief Justice of India BR Gavai. He was immediately apprehended by the security personnel and escorted out.
The Delhi Police released 71-year-old lawyer Rakesh Kishore, who attempted to throw a shoe during working hours at the Supreme Court on Monday. According to an official, they released Kishore after the Supreme Court registry refused to press any charges against the septuagenarian.
The attacker had reportedly been upset over CJI Gavai's remarks that came while dismissing a plea seeking restoration of a seven-foot-long beheaded structure of Lord Vishnu in the Javari temple in Khajuraho, MP.