New Delhi: Former Chief Justice of India (CJI) Jagdish Singh Khehar on Thursday said Hindutva politics will be counterproductive for India’s aspiration to become a global power.
While delivering the 24th Lal Bahadur Shastri Memorial Lecture, Justice Khehar said, “India is aspiring to be a global power. In a global scenario, if you want to befriend Muslim countries, you can’t afford to be anti-Muslim back in your country. If you want strong ties with Christian nations, you can’t be anti-Christian”.
Justice Khehar pointed out that after independence India chose to be a secular nation. He expressed concerns saying “Whatever is happening today is not in the interest of India, especially if we are projecting a communal bend of mind.”
He lamented that India has not been able to fulfil the constitutional mandate, which promises to secure all citizens’ justice, liberty, equality and fraternity, projected in the Preamble of the Constitution itself.