Opposition leaders blamed the BJP, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and the RSS for fostering a climate of hatred that enabled a lawyer to attempt to hurl a shoe at Chief Justice B.R. Gavai in the Supreme Court on Monday.
Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan condemned the attack, terming it a "reflection of the hatred" spread by the Sangh Parivar. Describing the incident as "alarming", Vijayan said dismissing it as an individual act would ignore the growing climate of intolerance.
"Strongly condemn the attempted attack on Chief Justice B R Gavai in the Supreme Court. This alarming incident is a reflection of the hatred spread by the Sangh Parivar," he said in a post on 'X'.
Nationalist Congress Party (SP) president Sharad Pawar said, it was not just an assault on judiciary, but a grave insult to the Constitution also.
"The judiciary exists to uphold the values of democracy and the Constitution. An attempt to attack the Chief Justice of India in the highest institution of justice (Supreme Court) is not merely an assault on the judiciary, but a grave insult to our democracy, our Constitution, and our nation itself," Pawar added.
Congress Working Committee member Supriya Shrinate framed the attack as part of a wider political and social deterioration.
"These are not self-proclaimed contractors of religion - they are zombies. Only one man is responsible for bringing my country to this brink - Narendra Modi. Imagine this happening in the highest court of this country with the most senior judge - this is not religious fanaticism, it is madness - this happening in the highest institution of justice is absolutely wrong,” Shrinate said.
Trinamool Congress' Rajya Sabha deputy leader Sagarika Ghose pointed to the connection between online rhetoric and offline violence.
“The BJP and its online IT army have created this culture of dividing citizens, of shrilly demonising and targeting individuals through violent language and nasty hashtags. This online violence is leading to violent acts offline. The foul BJP IT Cell is blurring the line between online and offline attacks,” Ghosh wrote on X.
Congress MP Manickam Tagore said this is the result of 100 years of RSS hate poison and praised CJI Gavai for maintaining composure.
“CJI Gavai’s composure reflects the strength of India’s judiciary — standing tall even as hate tries to shake our institutions. But let’s be honest — this is not just one person’s madness. This is the result of 100 years of RSS hate poison corroding minds and weakening respect for institutions. When hate becomes normal, justice becomes dangerous. Time for India to choose calm over chaos, humanity over hate,” Tagore added.
Congress MP Imran Masood called it a “black day” and highlighted the deeper social implications.
"They cannot accept the fact that a Dalit has become the Chief Justice of India. This was Babasaheb Ambedkar's dream. We have been saying this time and again that hatred has been instilled in the name of caste and religion in our country. This is a result of that. They consider Dalits and Muslims as an abuse. We have been isolated in the world. You wanted to become a vishwaguru, but India has lost its friends,” Masood said.
The incident unfolded during case mentions before a Bench led by CJI Gavai on Monday. Eyewitnesses said the lawyer approached the dais, took off his shoe, and tried to fling it at the Chief Justice.
