Home India Congress leads signature drive on impeachment plea against CJI Dipak Misra

Congress leads signature drive on impeachment plea against CJI Dipak Misra

A senior Congress leader said opinion within the party was divided on taking the step against the Chief Justice of India, considering that being an erstwhile ruling party at the Centre, it could not conduct itself as a pressure group.

The draft petition, according to the sources, argued that CJI Dipak Misra has not properly addressed the issues flagged by the four senior-most judges of the Supreme Court at a press conference earlier this year. (Express Photo by Ganesh Shirsekar/File)

The move to bring an impeachment motion against Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra gained momentum on Tuesday as the Congress took the lead in signing the draft petition.

Sources said that Congress leaders were busy obtaining the signatures of Rajya Sabha members belonging to the DMK, Samajwadi Party, NCP and Left parties, which had conveyed their support to the principal opposition party on the matter. They were also hopeful of getting the Trinamool Congress on board after party chief Mamata Banerjee said that she would go along other opposition parties.

Sources said that the petition would be submitted to Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu in the next one or two working days. An impeachment motion in the Rajya Sabha requires the signatures of a minimum 50 members of the House.

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A senior Congress leader said opinion within the party was divided on taking the step against the Chief Justice of India, considering that being an erstwhile ruling party at the Centre, it could not conduct itself as a pressure group. Senior leaders Ahmed Patel, Ghulam Nabi Azad and Anand Sharma carried extensive internal discussions before the party took the final stand.

The draft petition, according to the sources, argued that CJI Misra has not properly addressed the issues flagged by the four senior-most judges of the Supreme Court at a press conference earlier this year and an impeachment motion had become inevitable nearly two months after the incident.

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