A new social media post by senior Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut has sparked a huge controversy in the political and legal circles of the country. Sanjay Raut has shared a video on his official social media handle of the violent unrest that broke out in the European country Albania and the setting on fire of the Supreme Court building there. Posting this video, he wrote that the people of Albania set the Supreme Court on fire for supporting the corrupt Prime Minister, and India should also learn a lesson from this. As soon as his statement came to light, there were sharp reactions in the political circles and it was being termed as an inappropriate comment on the Indian judiciary and the apex court. The video shared by Raut is said to be from Tirana, the capital of Albania, where opposition parties and the general public had started violent protests against the alleged corruption, election rigging and abuse of power of the current government. The protesters alleged that the country's top court and constitutional institutions were protecting the arbitrariness of the Prime Minister and the ruling party. Due to this anger, the mob targeted the court building and vandalized it and set it on fire. Citing this foreign incident, Sanjay Raut gave a statement in the context of India, due to which now serious questions are being raised on his intentions. Video of arson in Albania and sharp attack by Sanjay Raut: While posting the video clip on the social media platform 'X', Sanjay Raut tried to directly connect the political situation of Albania with the current situation of India. In his message, he tried to indicate that if the constitutional institutions and the judiciary are seen to be leaning in favor of power instead of public expectations, impartiality and the basic principles of the Constitution, then public anger can take an explosive form in any country. He wrote that when the courts abandon impartiality and become the shield of the corrupt government, then the public comes out on the streets and this is how their anger erupts. Describing this development as a strong message for India, Raut said that the country should learn from it. However, many analysts have called it a highly irresponsible and out of bounds statement to link the incident of anarchical and violent mobocracy in a foreign country to India in a democratic system. Raut has already been in controversies regarding his comments on the judiciary. This is not the first time that Sanjay Raut has raised strong questions on the functioning of the apex court or the judiciary. Recently, he has also made public comments on the functioning of the court in matters related to alleged irregularities in the voter list, the 'Special Intensive Revision' (SIR) process and the role of the Election Commission. The Supreme Court Bar Association and legal organizations had lodged strong objections to his statements and even issued notices related to contempt of the apex court. However, when the controversy escalated a few days ago, Raut had clarified that he fully respects the country's Supreme Court and the Chief Justice and his intention was not to insult the court. But now after giving advice to India by sharing the gruesome video of burning of the Supreme Court in Albania, this controversy has once again reached its peak. Sharp counterattack from the ruling party: Direct attack on the Constitution and rule of law. Immediately after this post of Sanjay Raut, the leaders of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the ruling alliance have launched an all-out attack on him. Leaders of the ruling party say that this statement of Sanjay Raut is not just a political comment, but a direct threat to India's constitutional institutions, democracy and the highest judiciary of the country. The leaders alleged that whenever the opposition loses the elections in a democratic manner or the court does not give its desired decisions, it starts making statements that tarnish the credibility of the institutions and incite anarchy and violence in the country. The ruling party raised the question whether Sanjay Raut, as an MP, is supporting violent arson and anarchy like Albania in India? Legal experts also believe that such statements have an adverse effect on the dignity of the judiciary and the possibility of the court taking suo motu cognizance in this case cannot be ruled out. Sanjay Raut's move has once again sparked a debate on democracy and institutional decorum in the country as to what is the limit of freedom of expression in democratic politics. In a mature and large democracy like India, the impartiality and independence of the judiciary has always been the strongest backbone of the Constitution. In such a situation, presenting examples of criminal incidents like breakdown of law and order in a foreign country and setting of courts on fire by violent mobs cannot be considered as a sign of healthy politics from any point of view. At present, the political temperature has risen from Maharashtra to Delhi regarding this entire matter and there is every possibility that its echo will be heard in legal forums also in the coming days.
