New Delhi: Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Sunday emphasised that ‘Parliament’ reflects the mandate of the people and ‘is the ultimate and exclusive architect of the Constitution’.
Drawing lines between the three pillars of democracy, i.e. legislature, the executive and the judiciary, the Vice President noted, “The executive has no role in evolving Constitution and no other institution including the judiciary has any role to evolve constitution. Constitution evolution has to take place in Parliament and there can be no super body to look into that.”
“It has to end with Parliament, democratic values and public interests are optimally served when the legislature, the judiciary and the executive discharge their respective obligations scrupulously confining to their domain and acting in harmony, togetherness and tandem. This is quite a since transgression of this will create a problem for democracy. This is quintessential, any transgression of this will create a problem for democracy. It is not being possessive about power. It is being possessive about powers given to us by the Constitution. And that is a challenge we all have to collectively face and harmoniously discharge,” he said.
On the role of the three institutions, Dhankhar said, “In democracy, dynamics of governance will always be challenging, requiring harmonious functioning of constitutional institutions, it will always happen. The legislature, the executive and the judiciary - there will always be issues and we shall never have a day when we can say henceforth, there will be no issues, because we are a dynamic society it is bound to happen.”
He said that all these institutions have to act in collaboration and find resolution together, adding, “There is no room for confrontation or being a complainant by those who head these institutions. Those who are heading executive, legislature or judiciary, they cannot be complacent, they cannot act in confrontation.”
“I have no doubt … I've been saying for a long time … the country's great democracy blossoms and flourishes, it is the primacy of our Constitution that determines the stability, harmony and productivity of democratic governance. And Parliament reflecting the mandate of the people is the ultimate and exclusive architect of the Constitution. A constitution has to evolve from the people through Parliament,” he said.
He also warned the nation of anti-India narratives that are being spread on foreign land. He cautioned that ‘India’s rise at the global stage comes with challenges – within and without and called for intelligentsia and the people to be cognizant of it.
According to an official press release by the Vice President's Secretariat, Dhankhar called for intelligentsia and the people to be cognizant of ‘incubators and distributors orchestrating pernicious narratives to downsize our growth trajectory and dent our functional democracy and constitutional institutions’.
He said, “India is on rise as never before and the rise is unstoppable. Global relevance and recognition of the Nation is at a level never before. This rise is with challenges from within and without.”
“It is here that the intelligentsia and people from media come into picture. We all need to be cognizant of emergence of incubators and distributors of anti-Indian forces orchestrating pernicious narratives to down size our growth trajectory and taint our functional democracy and constitutional institutions. It is imperative that we all believe in our nation and nationalism and engage in neutralizing such misadventures,” the Vice President further added, according to the release.
Notably, his remarks have come when the political corridors of the country are fuelling by Rahul Gandhi’s comments in London during a speech on Indian democracy.
The Vice President was addressing a gathering after releasing a book ‘Governorpet to Governor's House: A Hick's Odyssey’ – a memoir of the former Governor of Tamil Nadu, PS Ramamohan Rao in New Delhi. V-P Dhankhar lauded the former Governor for his contributions to public life and sharing his insightful experiences in his memoir.
Talking about the law of the land, he said that everyone is accountable to law in a democracy.
“In a democracy, all are similarly accountable to law. No one can have privileged consideration by Law, else Democracy will cease to exist if between A and B, A will be looked at by law through a different prism. Be you so high, the law is always above you. It is known to us all that there can be no such privileges. There can be no enforcement of these privileges. The rigours of law to apply to all. Some people unfortunately think they are different or to be dealt with differently,” the Vice President added.
Noting Indian democracy as a vibrant one, he said, “Ours is the most vibrant and functional democracy. Equality is something which we can never negotiate. Adherence to law is not optional. Some people have to realise it. Intelligence and media have to see a lot of meaning in it.”
On the role of the three pillars democracy, i.e. legislature, the executive and the judiciary, Dhankhar said, “In democracy, dynamics of governance will always be challenging, requiring harmonious functioning of constitutional institutions, it will always happen. The legislature, the executive and the judiciary - there will always be issues and we shall never have a day when we can say henceforth, there will be no issues, because we are a dynamic society it is bound to happen.”
He said that all these institutions have to act in collaboration and find resolution together, adding, “There is no room for confrontation or being a complainant by those who head these institutions. Those who are heading executive, legislature or judiciary, they cannot be complacent, they cannot act in confrontation.”
Sharing his thoughts on the coordinated work of the three institutions, he said, “I have been thinking for a long time that there is a need for a structured mechanism amongst those at the helm of these institutions - the legislature, the judiciary and the executive. And such structured mechanism of interaction will go a long way. Those who head these institutions cannot use their platforms for a dialogue with the other institution.”
The event was also attended by former Vice President of India, Venkaiah Naidu, Governor of Haryana, Bandaru Dattatreya, former Governor of Tamil Nadu and the author, P.S. Ramamohan Rao, Members of Parliament, Shri K Keshav Rao, Y.S. Chowdary among other dignitaries