Kapil Sibal is the smartest guy in the room. Backed by Samjwadi, now close to the TMC, still has good ties with the Congress. More importantly, he knows all the dirty secrets of these parties. My bet is that when the INDIA Alliance comes into power in 2029, he will make a bid to be President of India.

AMS and GS were also not enticed to plead submissions that were dubious in nature/not fully legitimate, as provided by the WB Gov. Sibbal has either received a generous amount for this, or there is a political understanding between the two. MG is probably just happy she is in the spotlight once again.

Dr Aggarwala has stated in his letter, "You have been representing the government of West Bengal in the related cases before Hon'ble Supreme Court. As a lawyer, you have every right to accept and argue cases. However, on August 21, 2024 you circulated a purported Resolution of the SCBA under your signature, describing the RG Kar Medical College incident as ‘symptomatic malaise’, and said the ‘resolution’ hoped that such incidents that have taken place throughout the country are not repeated. The statement about the ‘SCBA resolution’ signed by you and printed on SCBA letterhead is mischievous, dangerous, insensitive and a grave injustice to the rape-murder victim and lakhs of doctors, trainees and students who are still on protest mode, demanding safe work environment."

https://x.com/adishcaggarwala/status/1826978819850313980

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jyg-nSQPtrQ

https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/congress-adhir-choudhary-kapil-sibal-withdraw-kolkata-rape-murder-rg-kar-supreme-court-west-bengal-2586622-2024-08-23

https://www.verdictum.in/news/rg-kar-medical-college-and-hospital-rape-west-bengal-police-kapil-sibal-conflict-of-interest-supreme-court-bar-association-1549077

https://lawbeat.in/top-stories/SCBA-concern-Kapil-Sibal-resolution-personal-views

https://indialegallive.com/constitutional-law-news/courts-news/kolkata-doctor-rape-murder-case-scba-executive-committee-objects-to-resolution-signed-by-kapil-sibal/#google_vignette

To give everyone the background to this:

- As was mentioned in another LI thread, it is widely believed that AMS-GShanks was the first choice of the WB govt, but both allegedly withdrew fearing that they would become unpopular for taking up this case. In AMS's case, he is not indebted to Mamata anymore, because he is no longer a TMC-supported RS member from Bengal. He will be joining from Telangana now.

- Had AMS taken up this case, it may also have caused anger within the Congress, as RaGa himself has criticised the TMC government. Remember also that AMS could be a candidate for the Attorney General's post if the Congress wins in 2029, and GShanks for the ASG's post. So why should they wade into this mess and risk their reputation?

- In contrast, Kapil Sibal is no longer with the Congress. He has left in exchange for being a Samajwadi-supported RS candidate. And he doesn't give a damn about being popular or unpopular among the public. He is SCBA Prez and an RS MP, plus earns crores in fees. So why bother?

- Meanwhile, it's unlikely that MG will face similar calls to withdraw, given that she has a mere secondary role and hasn't even spoken a full sentence at the hearing. It's quite possible that MG could have been recommended to the WB govt by GShanks, as a fellow NLSIU alum. A lot of people are heartbroken at MG taking up this case and are ranting online, but these are mostly Gen Z fanboys/fangirls with zero clout. The fact is that MG has the full backing of the NLSIU community and that is all that matters.

- Finally, the legal media's coverage to the Adish Agarwala-led backlash is interesting. LiveLaw openly campaigned for Sibal during the SCBA election and has blacked out the news so far. BB as well. Only RW legal outlets like LawBeat and Verdictum have covered it so far. But all eyes on Adish Agarwala to see how far he can take this and whether his conflict of interest claim will snowball into a wider protest against Sibal, backed by the BJP.