Afraid of judges?

The Rajya Sabha on Tuesday took up a discussion on a calling attention motion on the “situation arising out of impasse in the appointment of judges in high courts and the Supreme Court”. Congress member Rajiv Shukla’s intervention caused much mirth among members. Shukla, in a jibe at Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, said the government was scared of the judiciary and that happened when a government appointed a lawyer as its law minister. He said such ministers were afraid of judges since they would  eventually have to take up cases in the courts of these judges. Congress member Jairam Ramesh and Bahujan Samaj Party’s Satish Chandra Mishra said the issue between Prasad and Shukla was of domestic conflict of interest. Shukla is married to Prasad’s sister and journalist Anuradha Prasad.