Regressive political action is a threat: CJI

Coming down heavily on senseless violence and disruption of life in different parts of the country, Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan said that regressive brand of political action is threatening to undo the very foundation on which the constitution order has been built. In an unusually strong speech on the current political and law and order situation he said "Even if there is a strong polarisation of views among certain groups the method of persuasion need to be preferred as opposed to methods of confrontation." "Agitations are resorted to on the flimsiest of reasons and public order is threatened even in circumstances where an inclusive dialogue is the best solution. Such a regressive brand of political action is threatening to undo the very foundations on which our constitutional order has been built, namely those of respect for rule of law, equal treatment before the law and due process," he said. The CJI was addressing a conference on "National Value Crisis and Redressal". He emphasised that the differences in democratic societies should be resolved by means of dialogue. "In a pluralist society such as ours, there are bound to be perpetual differences as well as conflicts among the interest of various sections. However, the test for building an inclusive nation is one that pertains to the means used to resolve these differences,” he said. "With the maturing of our democracy, one would expect that social, economic and political differences are increasingly being resolved through means such as rational and constructive dialogue between groups with competing interests," he said. "It is quite distressing to note that differences based on caste, religion, gender, class and regionalism continue to be the root cause behind organised and often institutionalised violence," he added. "Especially in the last few months, one can recount several instances of senseless violence and disruption of routine life in different parts of the country. In many instances, such extreme measures are clearly a strategy to polarise the electorate," he said.

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