NEW DELHI: Congress on Tuesday said the nomination of former Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi to Rajya Sabha constitutes a serious assault on the basic structure of the Constitution, alleging it would add to the perception that judiciary is being influenced by the government.AICC spokesman Abhishek Singhvi said, “Congress finds the nomination of a retired CJI to the RS as one of the most serious, unprecedented and unpardonable assaults on the basic structure of the Constitution, which subsumes independence of judiciary as held by the Supreme Court judgements.”Anand Sharma, deputy leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha, said, “Justice Gogoi's nomination is a reward for compromising the independence of the judiciary and delaying hearing of urgent Constitutional matters to appease the government.”“By his conduct and actions, he eroded people's faith in the justice system. The present judges have a duty to undo the damage and restore the dignity of judiciary and people's trust,” he added.The strong words from Congress came amid widespread criticism of Gogoi’s nomination to the RS by the opposition and former judges.Singhvi said Prime Minister Narendra Modi could have followed the advice of late BJP leader Arun Jaitley who had said that possibility of post-retirement benefits influenced judgements delivered by judges.The spokesman, who is also a supreme court lawyer, said Gogoi’s appointment will compound the perception that “judiciary in recent years has not been able to stand up with its usual vigour and fearlessness against the executive and legislative onslaught”.AICC spokesman Randeep Surjewala quoted former SC judge Madan Lokur to ask, “Has the last bastion fallen?”At the same time, Congress sought to rebuff the “propaganda by BJP” that Congress governments too had nominated former CJIs to the upper House.Singhvi said Justice Ranganath Mishra was appointed to RS six years after his retirement while M Hidayatullah was appointed as chairman of the Rajya Sabha and vice president nine years after his retirement as Chief Justice of India.“The dirty tricks department of the ruling party gives completely inapplicable and misleading examples whose only objective is to mislead you,” he said.