BJP slams Rahul for 'skipping' CJI's oath ceremony, says Cong has no respect for Constitution

New Delhi: The BJP on Monday slammed Rahul Gandhi for "skipping" the oath ceremony of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and alleged the Congress neither has any respect for B R Ambedkar nor for the Constitution.

Justice Surya Kant, who has been part of several landmark verdicts, including on the abrogation of Article 370 removing Jammu and Kashmir's special status and Bihar electoral rolls revision, took oath as the 53rd Chief Justice of India on Monday.

President Droupadi Murmu administered the oath to Justice Kant at a brief ceremony held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Vice President C P Radhakrishnan and Prime Minister Narendra Modi were among the senior leaders who attended the ceremony.

"Today, when the entire country was in a sense celebrating, particularly Haryana, the Chief Justice of India's oath ceremony and the entire government led by Modiji was present at the event, he skipped it, boycotted it," BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said, flaying Gandhi over his absence at the event.

"Instead of attending this solemn programme, Rahul Gandhi may be on some foreign trip or jungle safari," he charged. "It shows that his family, particularly him, talk about 'samvidhan' (Constitution of India), but they don't respect Ambedkar and 'samvidhan'." The Congress puts 'parivaar tantra' (family system) above 'loktantra' (democracy) and 'samvidhan tantra' (constitutional system), the BJP spokesperson alleged.

Justice Kant, who succeeded Justice B R Gavai, took the oath in Hindi in the name of God. He will remain in the post for nearly 15 months and demit office on February 9, 2027, on attaining the age of 65 years.