Rajya Sabha member and former Congress leader Kapil Sibal has decided to launch a national platform called Insaf to fight for social and political justice for ordinary citizens.
Though he invited every citizen to join the apolitical outfit, Sibal, a top lawyer himself, expressed outrage at the silence of lawyers at the prevailing atmosphere of injustice in the country. He lamented that lawyers in India had failed to fight for justice even as lawyers have been at the forefront of every revolutionary change throughout the world — be it the American war of independence, the French Revolution or India’s freedom struggle.
“India’s lawyers should unite and raise their voice collectively against all kinds of injustice. This has turned into an age of injustice; we see people harassed, tormented in every nook and corner, every village, every town of India today. Be it citizens, businessmen, journalists, politicians… every section of society is facing injustice. I want to raise a force called Insaf ke Sipahi to help the people,” Sibal said at a media conference.
He promised to unveil his “vision for India” at a conference at Jantar Mantar on March 11 where everybody — activists, politicians and ordinary citizens — will be invited. He is open to deal with political parties, even appealed to opposition chief ministers to help the project, and declared that political leaders will be allowed to share the dais.
Sibal has goodwill among different political parties but he may have bitten off more than he can chew by planning a national platform to make an impact before the 2024 parliamentary elections, some believe.
His assertions of an apolitical agenda notwithstanding, Sibal talked of diminishing democracy, falling incomes, crony capitalism, toppling of elected governments, misuse of central agencies, attack on institutional and individual liberties and discrimination on the basis of caste and religion to make his intentions clear.
He described the Enforcement Directorate (ED) as the Modi government’s “valentine,” leaving little doubt about the political line he intended to pursue.
Asked if he was on a solo mission or has a core team to execute his plan, Sibal said: “I am talking to like-minded people. Many eminent personalities are going to join. People are worried at what is happening in the country. Who will have a quarrel with my agenda of insaf (justice)? Even the Prime Minister will support it. We have to turn it into a national movement; after all, liberty, fraternity and justice are guaranteed by the Constitution.”
Sibal’s rhetoric offered a stinging critique of the Modi dispensation. He said: “The Tenth Schedule of the Constitution has become a defector’s paradise. They have pulled down eight elected governments so far. This is political injustice. The courts are silent. People are silent. Lawyers are silent. Barely 100 people have control over Rs 54 lakh crore. Around 190 million people were below the poverty line in 2014, which has increased to 350 million.”
