Former Calcutta High Court judge Justice CS Karnan on Thursday announced his decision to launch a political party, The Times of India reported. The party, called the Anti-Corruption Dynamic Party, would contest all 543 seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Karnan’s secretary Anthony W Lizaro had earlier told Bar and Bench.
“The party has been launched with me as founder president,” said Karnan, who was released from prison five months ago after serving a six-month sentence for contempt of court. He is the first sitting judge in the country’s history to be found guilty of contempt charges. “Only women will contest, and we hope to sweep elections across the country. I was asked to be the only male candidate and contest from Varanasi. However, I feel even Varanasi should be contested by a woman.”
He said the decision to field only women contestants was taken as he felt that they had been severely discriminated against. “I have no plan to associate with the judiciary any longer,” he added.
The former judge said that he planned to have a new prime minister every year if his party is voted to power. “We will have a Muslim woman as prime minister in 2019-’20,” Karnan said at a convention in Kolkata on discrimination against people from Dalit and minority communities. “The next year, it will be a woman from upper castes. In 2021-’22, the position will be occupied by a woman from the backward classes and the next year, somebody from a denotified community.”
The party’s symbol will be inspired by Rajaraja Chola, who ruled large parts of South India in the 10th Century AD, and each contestant would be given Rs 1 lakh each for election-related activities at Karnan’s personal expense, Bar and Bench reported.
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