New Delhi, Feb 28 (IANS): The Congress has once again attacked the Centre on the issue of transfer of the Delhi High Court Judge, Justice S. Muralidhar, who was hearing the hate-speeches case against some BJP leaders.

Late Thursday Congress General Secretary K.C. Venugopal issued a statement, which said: "The decision to transfer the Judge is hardly surprising given the fact that, the BJP which had unashamedly instigated the mob and provided complete impunity to those who called for violence, took such a malicious decision under cover of darkness."

The Congress leader alleged that immediate and overnight transfer of Justice Muralidhar, of the Delhi High Court, "who highlighted the role played by certain BJP leaders in instigating the mob and directed the Delhi police to take urgent action is a clear proof of the discomfort on part of Shri Narendra Modi and Shri Amit Shah, over fears of an impartial investigation exposing their complicity in the Delhi riots."

The government has rebutted the Congress allegation and said that he was transferred on recommendation of the SC collegium on February 12.

But, the opposition party is smelling a conspiracy to save the leaders involved in the hate speech. The Delhi High Court has given four weeks time to the police to look into the matter.

The Congress alleged that Justice Murlidhar was critical of the BJP leaders' speeches. "A strong and independent judiciary has been the backbone of this country. The country is witnessing a dictatorship which is continuously gaining ground, wherein not only the democratic institution but the judiciary itself, are blatantly suppressed and undermined,"said Venugopal.

"This brazenness and high handedness are a clear rebuff to the families who lost their dearest ones as well as the tens of thousands of the citizens who believe in the democratic values of our constitution. The BJP can't run away from the naked truth that their own words and deeds led to this unprecedented human casualty the party leader alleged."