Threat of palace coup making Rahul aggressive: Jaitley

August 6, 2014

New Delhi, Aug 6: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today hit out at Congress saying Rahul Gandhi's "contrived aggression" in Lok Sabha was a compulsion as the party leadership was facing a "palace coup" within.

Hours after Rahul Gandhi stormed the well of the House on the issue of communal violence and later alleged that the government was not allowing discussion, the BJP leader said he was making an issue out of a non-issue.

"The reason is very clear. Today a section of the leadership of the Congress party, because if its inability to lead, has been under pressure. They have been facing a palace coup. It's a coup within their own party," he said.

Jaitley was apparently referring to demands from some Congressmen urging Priyanka Gandhi to play an active role in the party but he parried questions whether he was referring to Rahul.

The Finance Minister also had a dig at Rahul Gandhi saying his charge was surprising because "some leaders don't speak at all in the House and then say we are not allowed to speak".

Referring to Rahul's charge that they are not being allowed to speak in the House, he said the Congress party has been participating in every discussions. "At times they have disturbed the House and not allowed to go on. There is not a single instance where they are not being allowed to raise issues".

Day after day, Jaitley said, established leaders of the party were speaking in the House. "It's an internal compulsion within the party. For that, you need not drag the House or Presiding officer into the debate," he said.

The Minister said if Rahul Gandhi wanted to show as doing something, it would be better if he led his own party rather than develop a contrived aggression against functioning of the House which otherwise has been functioning well.

"I think it is time for the party to introspect within itself. Questions are being raised about the competence of the leadership. It (scenes in Parliament) is just to show their leaders that they are also capable of aggression," he said.

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‘Pay the worker before his sweat dries’: Madras High Court cites Prophet Muhammad’s teaching while ordering settlement of dues

News Network

December 21,2025

Invoking the teachings of Prophet Muhammad—“pay the worker before his sweat dries”—the Madras High Court has directed a municipal corporation to settle long-pending legal dues owed to a former counsel. The court observed that this principle reflects basic fairness and applies equally to labour and service-related disputes.

Justice G. R. Swaminathan made the observation while hearing a petition filed by advocate P. Thirumalai, who claimed that the Madurai City Municipal Corporation failed to pay him legal fees amounting to ₹13.05 lakh. Earlier, the High Court had asked the corporation to consider his representation. However, a later order rejected a major portion of his claim, prompting the present petition.

The court allowed Thirumalai to approach the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) and submit a list of cases in which he had appeared. It also directed the corporation to settle the verified fee bills within two months, without interest. The court noted that the petitioner had waited nearly 18 years before challenging the non-payment and that the corporation could not be fully blamed, as the fee bills were not submitted properly.

‘A Matter of Embarrassment’

Justice Swaminathan described it as a “matter of embarrassment” that the State has nearly a dozen Additional Advocate Generals. He observed that appointing too many law officers often leads to unnecessary allocation of work and frequent adjournments, as government counsel claim that senior officers are engaged elsewhere.

He expressed hope that such practices would end at least in the Madurai Bench of the High Court and added that Additional Advocate Generals should “turn a new leaf” from 2026 onwards.

‘Scandalously High Amounts’

While stating that the court cannot examine the exact fees paid to senior counsel or law officers, Justice Swaminathan stressed that good governance requires public funds to be used prudently. He expressed concern over the “scandalously high amounts” paid by government and quasi-government bodies to a few favoured law officers.

In contrast, the court noted that Thirumalai’s total claim was “a pittance” considering the large number of cases he had handled.

Background

Thirumalai served as the standing counsel for the Madurai City Municipal Corporation for more than 14 years, from 1992 to 2006. During this period, he represented the corporation in about 818 cases before the Madurai District Courts.

As the former counsel was unable to hire a clerk to obtain certified copies of judgments in all 818 cases, the court directed the District Legal Services Authority to collect the certified copies within two months. The court further ordered the corporation to bear the cost incurred by the DLSA and deduct that amount from the final settlement payable to the petitioner.

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