New Delhi: Supreme Court judge Deepak Gupta today expressed serious concerns over the disturbing trend of branding dissenters against government as anti-national or traitor.
Delivering a lecture on “Democracy and Dissent” at an event organised by the Supreme Court Bar Association, Gupta said that it is disturbing to note that dissent is being treated as “anti-national”.
“If we quell or discourage dissent, it has a chilling effect on democracy. The government is not always correct. We all make mistakes. The government has no right to stifle a protest unless it is turning violent,” he said.
Justice Gupta said, “Just because you hold a contrarian view, does not mean you are anti-national or disrespect the country. You may disagree with the government, may not go against the country. There is a difference between the country and its government”.
“A political party getting 51% mandate in the polls did not mean the other 49% of the country ought to remain silent for the next five years”, he said.
The remarks of the Supreme Court judge came in the backdrop of ongoing protests in several parts of the country against the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act, National Population Register and National Register of Citizens.