Pointing to the attack on Chief Justice of India (CJI) B. R. Gavai by a lawyer, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Uttar Pradesh Prabhari and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh called out the BJP’s hate machinery and the urgent need to crush it. He said AAP will protest in every Uttar Pradesh district on 10 October, called the attack a conspiracy by the PM Modi government, the BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), and warned it is an assault on the soul of Babasaheb’s Constitution that aims to drag Dalits back to untouchability.
Senior AAP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh stated, “A lawyer tried to throw a shoe at the CJI, and the entire BJP government remains silent. Several hours later, the Prime Minister remembered to post a tweet, made a formal phone call, but no action was taken against those responsible. The lawyer, Rakesh Kishore, is openly saying in the media that he has no regret. He is proud that he tried to attack the Chief Justice. This is not merely an attack on the Chief Justice but an insult to Babasaheb Ambedkar’s Constitution and the soul of India.”
Questioning the mindset of the BJP and the RSS, Sanjay Singh said, “The BJP’s silence reflects its belief that Dalits should not be accorded dignity. Their parent organisation, the RSS, has not made a single Dalit, backward, or Adivasi person the Sarsanghchalak (chief) in the last 100 years. Videos are going viral on social media showing the Chief Justice with a ‘haandi’ hung around his neck and a broom tied behind his back. This is an attempt to remind us of an era when Dalits were humiliated.”
Highlighting the hate being spread online, he continued, “Social media trolls are hurling abuses at the Chief Justice. Some are saying, ‘Why only a shoe? He should be shot.’ Others are saying, ‘The Chief Justice should be spat on.’ People like Ajit Bharti, who were called for questioning by Noida Police, come out and tweet, ‘The government is ours, the system is ours.’ This is the outcome of the BJP’s politics of hatred. The central government is providing protection to these poisonous trolls.”
Raising questions to the Union Government and the Ministry of Home Affairs, Sanjay Singh said, “How many X handles posting derogatory content about the Chief Justice have been banned so far? How many arrests have been made? Why has there been no action? It is clear that the BJP is supporting these people.”
“This is not just an insult to the Chief Justice but also to Babasaheb’s Constitution, which enabled a Dalit son to rise to the position of Chief Justice of India. The BJP cannot tolerate this. They want to push Dalits back into the era of pots and brooms. We must not let the BJP’s dream come true. These people are loyal to none. The nation must wake up,” he asserted.
The AAP MP added, “On Tuesday, the Aam Aadmi Party held a protest in Delhi against this incident. Arvind Kejriwal has also strongly condemned the act. On 10th October, protests will be held in every district of Uttar Pradesh. We demand the immediate arrest of lawyer Rakesh Kishore, registration of cases under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act against the trolls, and a ban on their X handles.”
