"You may be disrespectful to the government, but the government and country are two different things," says Deepak Gupta. The Supreme Court judge appealed for more tolerance of political opposition at the Supreme Court Bar Association lecture series.
Category
đ
NewsTranscript
00:00Though majority, rule of majority is an integral part of democracy, in my view, majoritarianism is an antithesis of democracy.
00:13I chose this topic when many topics were given to me because of what is happening and what is troubling us in the country today,
00:23where dissent is termed to be something like as if you are an anti-national or a traitor to the country.
00:30Just because you hold a contrarian view does not mean that you are disrespectful to the country.
00:39You may be disrespectful to the government or the powers that be, but the government and the country are two different things.
00:46But more why I am troubled is because I see members of the bar in various parts of the country, thankfully not the SCBA,
00:58but various parts of the country, bar associations passing resolutions that in such and such matter they will not appear because it is an anti-national.
01:07I am sorry that goes against the provisions of the Advocates Act. It goes against the provisions of the Bar Council rules.
01:14And the rules which basically the very, as advocates we cannot refuse to give legal aid to anybody.
01:22Though majority, rule of majority is an integral part of democracy, in my view, majoritarianism is an antithesis of democracy.
01:32Especially in a country like India, where our democracy is based on the first-past-the-post system,
01:42more often than not, those in power will not represent the majority of the voting electorate,
01:52let alone the majority of the people. But let us assume that they have got 51% votes population-wise.
02:04Does that mean that the other 49% now have to keep silent for 5 years and say nothing?
02:11Does that mean that those 49% have no voice for the 5 years?
02:16That they must accept whatever is done and not protest against it?
02:21So, these, in a democracy, the government once elected is a government for the 100%.
02:29It's not a government for those 51% or whatever percentage voted for them. It's a government for all the percent.
02:37So, every citizen, whether he voted for you or did not vote for you, has a right to play his role in the democratic process.
02:46When I talk of Dysentery in Democracy, I think this most beautiful of books which we have, the Constitution of India,
02:53I always refer back to it. And the preamble has adorned my table in the chambers the day since I became a judge.
03:03And anytime I feel difficulty in finding a solution to a problem, I read the preamble again,
03:10and more often than not, find the answer to my, solution to my problem.