Accepting Eknath Shinde Group's Case Will Bring Back 'Aaya Ram Gaya Ram' Regime : Kapil Sibal To Supreme Court
The term "aaaya ram, gaya ram", which originated in 1960-70s to describe the frequent spectacle of floor-crossing and horse trading in politics, was invoked by Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal in the Supreme Court on Wednesday while arguing the Shiv Sena case.We are back to "aaya ram, gaya ram" days, the senior lawyer appearing for the Uddhav Thackeray faction submitted before a Constitution Bench...
The term "aaaya ram, gaya ram", which originated in 1960-70s to describe the frequent spectacle of floor-crossing and horse trading in politics, was invoked by Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal in the Supreme Court on Wednesday while arguing the Shiv Sena case.
We are back to "aaya ram, gaya ram" days, the senior lawyer appearing for the Uddhav Thackeray faction submitted before a Constitution Bench led by the Chief Justice of India.
He submitted that if the arguments of the Shinde faction were accepted, the polity would return to the 'Aaya Ram Gaya Ram' era.
"We are back to 'Aaya Ram Gaya Ram' Why? Because you say now your political affiliation doesn't matter, what matters is numbers. Democracy isn't about numbers. What the legislators, speakers, governors recognise is the political party. And you're a member of the political party. Nothing less, nothing more.My identity is associated with my party. I have no separate identity"
If such tendencies are allowed, even a minority can topple a government, he said.
"For example, there is a small party that has 5 members. Two of them go to the governor saying 'I won't support the government'. Will the governor call the floor test? Forget majority, even the minority can topple the government".
Sibal also questioned how the Shinde faction could appoint a whip for the Shiv Sena party, when the official whip was continuing. It is the political party which appoints the whip, not any person.
"You cannot give yourself the powers of the party. Sitting in Assam, being entertained by another party, publicly saying that another party is fully supporting me and changing the constitution of the house as if you're the political party."
Shivsena is a recognised political party. "How can Shinde say that I'm the political party? It has no constitutional basis", he asked.
"We're dealing with 34 people which is a faction. It can't be a party. How did the governor recognise a faction? Under what constitutional parameters?If you hold their submissions to be correct, you're bringing back the regime of Aaya Ram Gaya Ram. Because anybody can collect numbers in the manner in which they're collected nowadays, send them to another State, keep them in comfort and come back to topple the government"
"This is a mockery happening in our country. It's not about Maharashtra. It's about Meghalaya, it's about Manipur, it's about tomorrow UP- anything can happen anywhere. It's about our future!", Sibal said.
The arguments will continue today.