“Diversity is a strength,” we are told. However, for the Congress Party, it has not been too much of a strength of late. The Congress Party has people who can together balance all sides of the field balance and on the face of it, their actions often seem contradictory. The apparent diversity in the actions and statements of the Congress Party is so huge that if the Congress Party were a person, it can be safely said that he or she would have been suffering from a severe case of cognitive dissonance.
For instance, when Surjewala declared Rahul Gandhi to be a Janeu-Dhari Hindu, Kapil Sibal was the lawyer for a private party batting against the Ram Temple at Ayodhya.
One would expect the politicians and advocates in the Congress party to maintain some sort of coherence in their actions but leaders of the Congress do not bother themselves with such trivialities. And thus, Congress leaders can simultaneously project Rahul Gandhi as a devout Hindu and in the Court, argue that the Ram Janambhoomi case be heard after the 2019 general elections.
There are only two possibilities here. Either the proverbial left-hand does not know what the proverbial right hand is doing and cannot control its actions in any manner or, the advocates and the politicians in the Congress are catering to two diverse groups to ensure that both sections feel they are on their side. And when looks towards the past, it seems evident that the latter is the case. It has become sort of an axiomatic truth that should a PIL be filed in Court to restrict or regulate a Hindu festival or one that proposes measures that could hurt national interests, the Congress party will inevitably be connected to the litigation in some form or the other. The Congress often castigates the BJP for questioning its patriotism and accusing it of being anti-Hindu. On the other hand, advocates in the Congress party will appear in Courts arguing for parties that will make any sensible person question their patriotism and deem them enemies of the Hindu faith. The leap from working against Hindu interests to working against India is not one that is too big. And advocates in the Congress party do not shy away from either.
Cracker Ban :
The ban on the sale of crackers during Diwali hurt the sentiments of many devout Hindus. The PIL in court that led to the ban was filed by three toddlers, then aged between 6 months to 14 months, through their fathers. It is, of course, the most repulsive tactic used by the Left. It fires its political agenda from the shoulders of children who have no agency in a bid to emotionally blackmail the critics into submission. The fathers of the toddlers are advocates themselves and two of them were represented by Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Kapil Sibal of the Congress Party.
Jallikattu :
We remember the massive Jallikattu protests in 2017 and how the Congress had blamed the BJP for the banning of the festival. They had even come out and said that they were in favour of the people of Tamil Nadu preserving their cultural heritage and traditions. What they had forgotten very conveniently was, they had supported a ban on the tradition in their election manifesto in May 2016 and their esteemed leader, Abhishek Manu Singhvi was arguing in the court for the Animal Welfare Board for a ban on Jallikattu and stated that it was cruelty to the animals involved.
Hadiya (formerly Akhila) marriage case :
Kapil Sibal is also the lawyer for Shafin Jahan in the Hadiya (formerly Akhila) marriage case. The NIA is probing the matter as a case of indoctrination and conversion after Akhila’s parents alleged she was brainwashed and indoctrinated into converting to Islam. The NIA has earlier pointed out in a report that there was a pattern to conversions into Islam and India Today had reported that there was a conversion mafia working towards trapping young Hindu women and converting them to Islam.
Enemy Property Act :
That they often work against the interests of the nation, was most obvious in in the Congress’s repeated hesitation and unwillingness to enforce the Enemy Property Act. Salman Khurshid was representing the kin of Raja Mahmudabad, a person who played an integral role in the creation of Pakistan, in a case related to ancestral property while the Manmohan Singh government fiddled with the bill and ultimately allowed the ordinance it to lapse. The beneficiary of the government’s actions almost incredulously turned out to be the Salman Khurshid’s client. Surprising, is it not? The Congress opposed the Enemy Property Act, which would prevent descendants of people who had taken the citizenship of Pakistan and China from inheriting their property, on the grounds that it will hurt the sentiments of Indian Muslims.
Demonetization :
Demonetization sparked strong reactions from across the board and it also led to PILs against it in the Court. The hero again was Kapil Sibal of the Congress party, who has an uncanny resemblance with Wormtail from the Harry Potter movies, appeared in court representing a petitioner. The Supreme Court, of course, refused to stay the order.
Juvenile Justice (care and protection) Act 2015 :
Advocates in the Congress also appeared in Court against the Juvenile Justice (care and protection) Act 2015 which made provisions for minors who have committed heinous crimes to be tried as adults, in the aftermath of the Nirbhaya case. In this matter, the petitioner was Tehseen Poonawalla and his advocate was former minority affairs minister, Salman Khurshid. It was argued that retributive punishment instead of reformative efforts would be detrimental to the welfare of children. Thus it appears, people from Congress want another instance where rapists walk free because they are just months away from being 18.
Representing people accused of embezzling funds meant for riot victims and fabrication of evidence :
We have Kapil Sibal again working as an advocate for Teesta Setalvad and her husband who is accused of embezzlement of funds meant for victims of the 2002 Gujarat riots. Teesta Setalvad is also under investigation for an allegation of fabrication of evidence in the 2002 Gujarat riots case and the FRCA registration of her NGO was cancelled for receiving foreign funds illegally.
Deriding Hinduism to defend Triple Talaq :
It was again Kapil Sibal who was the counsel for AIMPLB in the triple talaq matter and he thought fit to deride Hinduism to defend a regressive practice that was being supported by the All India Muslim Personal Law Board.
While one can read his 6 awesome arguments here, these are the two arguments that truly stood out :
1. “If Hindus’ faith about Rama’s birth at Ayodhya can’t be questioned, then triple talaq, a matter of faith for Muslims shouldn’t be.” — well, Hindus’ faith was questioned by the courts during the Ram Janmbhoomi case, and no, triple talaq is not a matter of faith, but a matter of practice. Many practices of Hindus from Dahi Handi to Jallikattu have been questioned by the courts.
2. “Hindu laws of divorce and succession are more discriminatory than triple talaq.” — even if it is true, what is the point? “What about Hindus?” Sibal seems to argue. This is classic whataboutism, which only “trolls” are accused of indulging in.
Unfortunately for the Congress, Kapil Sibal is neither omnipresent nor omnipotent. Therefore, sometimes their supporters and silent allies make their useful contribution to the cause.
Sabarimala Temple :
Indira Jaisingh, for instance, was the advocate for petitioners who filed a PIL in the Court demanding that women between the age of 10-50 be allowed to enter the Sabarimala Temple.
Rohingya Muslim refugees :
Prashant Bhushan, who regards Congress as the lesser evil between the two pan-India political parties and hopeful about Rahul Gandhi’s prospects, was the advocate for two Rohingyan Muslims who petitioned against the government’s plans to deport them all. Perhaps, the efforts of Congress affiliates and supporters may be better covered in a separate article afterwards.
Judge Loya :
Another instance of Congress fiddling with the judiciary is the recent case of Judge Loya. A case, where every attempt has been made to not only bring disrepute to the judiciary itself but also raise suspicions over a seemingly natural death to tarnish Amit Shah. OpIndia had broken an exclusive story how the “whistleblowers” used by the Congress party have an extremely dubious past and are sketchy characters.
The most obvious defence for the Congress Party when these facts are pointed out is that advocates are free to practice their profession and their work does not reflect the opinions of the Congress Party. But in most of these issues, the Congress Party does have a vested political interest. The Congress Party must take us as fools if they want to us to believe that the Ram Janambhoomi case does not affect their political interests or the Enemy Property Act for example. They can conjure all sorts of excuses out of thin air as they want but the voter is smart and the voter understands that when members of the party which has a self-proclaimed Shiva Bhakt and alleged ‘Janeu-Dhari Hindu’ as the President works against Hindu interests in the Courts, it reflects the dishonesty that has become an integral feature of the Indian National Congress. While this is in no way a comprehensive list of Congress’ treachery, it is certainly indicative of their hideous use of Hindus and their strategy of Rahul being a “political Hindu”.
