Shoe attack on CJI reveals contempt of the arrogant for the weak: Akhilesh

Lucknow, Oct 6 (PTI) Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Monday condemned the shoe attack on Chief Justice of India B R Gavai as an attack on the highest judicial authority and the weakest section of society by the arrogant.

In a shocking security breach, a 71-year-old lawyer allegedly attempted to hurl a shoe at CJI Gavai in his courtroom in the Supreme Court on Monday, prompting the Bar Council of India to suspend his licence with immediate effect.

"Even a shoe feels insulted when it falls into the hands of some people," Yadav stated in his lengthy Hindi X post.

"Those uncivilised individuals who insult the PDA society are actually victims of their own arrogance and ego. Their supremacist thinking gives birth to hatred, which is as much for the person sitting in the highest judicial position in the country as it is for the weakest, most marginalised individual in society. Such people are deeply afflicted by the disease of domination. That is why we say, PDA stands for 'Persecuted, Distressed, Humiliated'," he said.

The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said that for 5,000 years, the generosity and kindness of the PDA (Pichhde, Dalit, Alpsankhyak) society have been forgiving "such people", but after this insult, they will "no longer tolerate it." The Kannauj Lok Sabha MP trained his guns on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the incident, saying the party's days in power are numbered.

"The BJP and its allies are in the final phase of their power, because their corrupt electoral conspiracy has been exposed, and they will never win again. That is why, in their desperation, they are committing such heinous acts," he said.

"This time, the BJP will leave and never return, because when 90 per cent of the population has awakened to claim their rights, the arrogance and throne of the 10 per cent will no longer endure," he added.

Yadav noted that in the social-political history of India, the present era is one of a struggle between "insult and honour" and the PDA will "decisively win this final battle" for its self-respect and dignity.

Meanwhile, after the attack, the CJI remained unfazed and asked the court officials and the security personnel to ignore it and to let off the errant lawyer, identified as Rakesh Kishore, with a warning.

"Don't get distracted by all this. We are not distracted. These things do not affect me," the CJI, who was sitting on the bench with Justice K Vinod Chandran, told lawyers and continued hearing the mentioning of cases.

Bar bodies, SCBA and SCAORA, and lawyers, including Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and many political parties, condemned the incident as an attack.

The lawyer, a resident of Mayur Vihar in Delhi, was questioned for three hours by the Delhi police inside the apex court's premises and was allowed to leave at 2 pm as no formal complaint was lodged. Police also returned his shoes to him.

A police source said Kishor had a note on him that read 'Sanatan dharma ka apmaan nahi sahega Hindustan' (India will not tolerate insults to Sanatan Dharma).

"We also found that he was carrying a card of the Supreme Court Bar Association and the Shahdara Bar Association," police said.

Kishor claimed that he was unhappy with a remark the CJI made during a hearing of a plea seeking the restoration of a Lord Vishnu idol in the Khajuraho Temple complex in Madhya Pradesh, according to the source. PTI KIS VN VN