New Delhi: Chief minister Rekha Gupta on Tuesday accused former CM Arvind Kejriwal of undermining democratic institutions and questioning the judiciary out of “fear”, while AAP urged the Chief Justice of India to take suo motu cognisance of Gupta’s recent remark about a judge and initiate contempt proceedings against her.Referring to Kejriwal’s recent court appearances, CM said he had “turned into a lawyer” to defend himself and alleged that he had a history of disregarding key institutions such as the judiciary of the country, Central Bureau of Investigation, Enforcement Directorate and Election Commission of India.Speaking at an event in east Delhi, organised to mark the opening of Delhi-Dehradun Expressway, Gupta said, “Whenever he hears words against himself, he begins to attack the strong pillars of democracy — and today, he is targeting the judiciary. Whenever something went in his favour, he held the people in high regard, saying no one is better than them. And today, what fear is troubling you that you have started pointing fingers at the judiciary? It’s quite astonishing.”The remarks came a day after the AAP national convener appeared in Delhi High Court and argued his plea for the recusal of Justice Swarna Kant Sharma from hearing a CBI petition challenging the acquittal of Kejriwal and others in the liquor policy case. Kejriwal submitted that the judge’s earlier orders in the case had “almost declared us guilty and corrupt” while claiming that he had “a real and reasonable apprehension that I may not get a fair hearing” and listed 10 reasons behind his apprehension. Meanwhile, solicitor general Tushar Mehta cautioned that allowing a plea for recusal on “unreasonable apprehension” would set a bad precedent.CM Gupta said Kejriwal had no record or accountability, yet he insisted that his words must be accepted everywhere. “The people of Delhi and the country are watching this behaviour. The entire nation has faith in the judiciary, and justice will prevail. He is guilty in the eyes of the people and the people will also ensure justice,” she added.An AAP functionary urged the Chief Justice of India to take suo motu cognisance and initiate contempt proceedings against Gupta for recently referring to a judge as “set”, stating that such remarks seek to delegitimise due judicial process at a time when the matter is sub judice. On a media platform, Gupta recently made an extremely objectionable remark about a lower court judge, saying that judgments were delivered through “setting”, he claimed. The remarks, he alleged, were part of a deliberate conspiracy to portray the judiciary as corrupt and normalise such claims.The functionary also demanded that the apex court should set such a precedent that no person holding a constitutional position dared to call a judge corrupt.
