We are doing what Nehru couldn't do: Center to SC on sedition law

At the hearing, Kapil Sibal said that Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru had said the sooner we get rid of the sedition law the better. Solicitor General replied, "We are trying to do what Pandit Nehru could not do then."

As the sedition law debate creates major political and legal waves in the country, former PM Jawaharlal Nehru and his politics came up during arguments on the sedition law before the Supreme Court on Tuesday.

While the home ministry in its affidavit gave credit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for being cognizant of the concerns regarding misuse of the sedition law and for ordering a reconsideration of this particular provision, solicitor general Tushar Mehta during arguments in the Supreme Court on Tuesday also took a shot at the Opposition for not taking any steps regarding this contentious law.Senior advocate and Congress leader Kapil Sibal, who was presenting arguments on behalf of the petitioners, quoted Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru during the parliamentary debate on the first amendment to the Constitution where Nehru had said that "sedition law is obnoxious and should not be allowed to remain".

The Solicitor General argued that the government has been trying to do what Nehru had said he would do."He is quoting Nehru's speech. That's what we are trying to do now. They didn't do it. This is a government of the people," commented Mehta during the hearing.

ALSO READ | Anti-national or anti-government, what is sedition?Sibal in his arguments was attempting to persuade the Supreme Court to issue a stay on operation of section 124A while the larger question of its Constitutional validity is being considered.The SC has asked the government to look into what could be done to protect the interests of citizens who are facing FIRs and arrest under sedition law, or could be facing such proceedings in the future, even as it agreed to give time to the Center to conduct its deliberations on "reconsideration" of the Sedition provision. The hearing has been scheduled for Wednesday, May 11.