I regret Himanta Biswa Sarma's exit from legal fraternity: Ranjan Gogoi

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: Former Chief Justice of India (CJI) and incumbent Rajya Sabha MP Ranjan Gogoi has said that it is a matter of personal regret for him that Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma left the legal world and joined politics.

Speaking at an event at the Conference Room at the Janata Bhawan here on Thursday where a book titled 'Mukhyomontrir Dairy-1' written by Sarma was released, Gogoi elaborated that the judiciary's loss has become politics' gain.

Recalling the early days when Sarma came on a scooter to Gogoi's chamber to discuss certain cases, the ex-CJI said that had he been a judge then instead of a lawyer, he would have convinced Sarma to become a judge. Gogoi said in this context that the main problem of the Indian judiciary at the present time is not who appoints judges, but issues such as massive pendency of cases and problems in articulating the judiciary's problems. Gogoi said that he often wonders as to how Sarma would have tackled these issues had he been 'the spokesperson of the Indian judiciary". These issues include how to tackle pending cases and how to induce good lawyers to become good judges, Gogoi said, adding that he is sure that Sarma would not have dealt with the contentious "non-issue" of judges' appointment. Instead, Sarma would have chosen the actually important issues and served as an articulate spokesperson "who would have defended the judiciary better".

In a lighter vein, Gogoi said that the title of the book is a misnomer and should have been called "Himanta Biswa Sarma's Diary" because it lacks a chapter on Sarma's noteworthy achievement during the fight against the Coronavirus pandemic. "I used to watch television till late at night and saw how Sarma moved around various places without a mask. He was the Health Minister then, I think", Gogoi told the audience. He termed the book as a great idea and a great achievement.

Gogoi mentioned that the public would be eager to know about the pulls and pressures that a Chief Minister faces and expressed the hope that the sequels of the book would be also warmly received.

On the other hand, the Chief Minister said in his address, "This book is my humble attempt to bring forth the ideas and thoughts behind a CM's way of functioning. It is a great day for me that the former CJI has launched my book 'Mukhyomontrir Dairy-1' where I have chronicled my daily activities during the first year of my tenure as CM".

He said that the book mainly deals with the developmental initiatives taken by government. "I have not sung my own praises in this book and have used the word 'we' instead of 'I'," he said.

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