Constitution is for the people. And its repository of safeguarding it is that of elected representatives. They are the ultimate masters as to what constitutional content will be. There is no visualisation in the Constitution of any authority above Parliament. Parliament is supreme,” Dhankhar said.
Amid a row over his remarks on a Supreme Court ruling, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Tuesday fired another barb at the judiciary, asserting that the Constitution is for the people and those elected through constitutional practices are the “ultimate masters” of safeguarding it and in deciding what its content should be.
While speaking to students at the University of Delhi, the Vice President stated that every word uttered by a constitutional functionary is motivated by the paramount interest of the nation.
“Let me tell you, the Constitution in encapsulated it essence, its worth, its nectar in the preamble of the Constitution. And what does it say, We the people of India, the supreme power is with them. No one is above the people of India. And we, the people of India, under the Constitution, have chosen to reflect their expressions, their desire, their will through their public representatives. And they hold these representatives accountable during elections,” he said.
Dhankhar also affirmed that elected representatives are the “ultimate masters” of Constitutional content.
“And therefore, let there be no doubt about it, Constitution is for the people. And its repository of safeguarding it is that of elected representatives. They are the ultimate masters as to what constitutional content will be. There is no visualisation in the Constitution of any authority above Parliament. Parliament is supreme,” Dhankhar said.
“And that being the situation, let me tell you it is as supreme as every individual in the country. Part of we the People is an atom in democracy. And that atom has atomic power. And that atomic power is reflected during elections. And that is why we are a democratic nation,” he added.
Vice President’s remarks on Supreme Court ruling
The remarks come in the wake of the Supreme Court recently prescribing a three-month deadline for the President to decide bills held by governor for her approval.
On Friday, Dhankhar had said India had not bargained for a democracy where judges will legislate or perform Executive functions while acting as a “super Parliament”.
Referring to the Supreme Court’s use of Article 142—which empowers it to deliver “complete justice” in any case, the vice president said it has become a “nuclear missile against democratic forces, available to the judiciary 24×7.”
Citing the court’s 8 April judgment against Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi, he said, “The only right you have under the Constitution is to interpret it under Article 145(3), and that requires a bench of at least five judges.”
