'NRC is a Game, No Political Party Wants it': Ex-CJI Ranjan Gogoi

KOLKATA: The former Chief Justice of India and Rajya Sabha MP Ranjan Gogoi while attending the Today Conclave East 2021 said that the National Register of Citizens (NRC) is a 'game' played by political parties.

It is to be mentioned that the Ranjan Gogoi played an instrumental role in getting the NRC for Assam published, however, once the final draft was published, all political parties found it inconvenient and demanded changes.

Sharing his views at Conclave East 2021, the Rajya Sabha MP said that the issue of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) needs to be handled with care as the 13 km area also known as the "chicken's neck" which connects the rest of India with the North-East makes the entire region "very vulnerable".

Meanwhile, responding to a question about whether CAA has stirred an existential crisis, Ranjan Gogoi said, "The CAA has been enacted as law no matter how much you feel that it is not necessary is not going to help things, the only way you can get rid of the law is by repeal or a court declaration that it is invalid.

Earlier, on February 10, during the debate on the motion of thanks on President's address, the Trinamool Congress member Mahua Moitra made critical remarks against former Chief Justice of India and currently Rajya Sabha member, Ranjan Gogoi.

The 45-year-old MP from West Bengal's Krishna Nagar made the reference to the former Chief Justice against whom a sexual harassment case was registered based on an allegation.

However, her remarks on the ex-CJI did not go well at the house as treasury benches accused her of violating parliamentary rules and disrespecting the chair. The treasury benches further added that it is a direct attack on the dignity of the President who selects a person for the post of Chief Justice of India.

"The sacred cow that was the judiciary is no longer sacred," Moitra said.

"It stopped being sacred the day a sitting chief justice of this country was accused of sexual harassment, presided over his own trial, cleared himself and then proceeded to accept a nomination to the Upper House of Parliament within three months of his retirement replete with Z plus security."

Back in April 2019, a case of sexual harassment against the then CJI Ranjan Gogoi was filed, according to which the later made sexual advances on a woman at his residence office on October 10 and October 11, 2018.

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