Kapil Sibal on Ayodhya case: Does the PM have the courage to accuse the judiciary?

Hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi alleged that the Congress party was intimidating the judges in the Supreme Court's proceedings on the Ram Temple-Babri Masjid case in order to delay it, Congress leader Kapil Sibal attacked the PM for reportedly lying.

Sibal said that he was representing a stakeholder and not the Congress party in the Ayodhya case. “PM alleges Congress was responsible for the matter not being heard in SC. But, doesn’t he know that the Congress isn’t a party in the case, nor is theBJP. I was representing a stakeholder,” pointed out Kapil Sibal.

Stepping up his attack on the PM, Sibal further said that he has not appeared in the SC between January and November. The Congress leader added that the PM is not courageous enough to make a statement against the judiciary. “This only shows PM wants to rake this up for purposes of the election, for making political capital out of it,” Sibal said.

Attacking the PM, Sibal said, “ “I want to tell the PM that the 50th edition of his Mann ki Baat is over. Now he should come up with a new show, ‘Jhoothi Baatein’. The country knows who is the liar. I did not appear in the Ram Mandir case. The CJI has made things clear about the case hearing”.

Earlier in the day, in Alwar, the Prime Minister accused the Congress of politicising the judicial system.

"The Congress creates an atmosphere of fear for the judiciary. They tell the Supreme Court to delay the Ayodhya hearing due to 2019 elections. They do everything possible to impeach the Chief Justice. How can such things be accepted," said Modi.

In October, the Supreme Court had adjourned the hearing for the Ayodhya title suit case to January. The CJI Ranjan Gogoi rejected the early hearing by saying that "the court has its own priorities." Uttar Pradesh SG Tushar Mehta had urged a hearing in November because of the nature of the dispute.