NEW DELHI: Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Sunday advised the judiciary to refrain from any observation which can de-spirit the
government agencies
and trigger a political debate.
During the inauguration ceremony of Samvidhan Mandir at Mumbai’s Elphinstone Technical High School and Junior College, Vice President said that one needs to be “extremely cautious” about the country’s institutions that are robust and work independently under the rule of law with suitable checks and balances.
“All organs of the state Judiciary, Legislature, and Executive have a single purpose: to ensure the success of the fundamental spirit of the Constitution, to guarantee all rights to the common people, and to help India prosper and flourish. They need to work in tandem and togetherness to nurture and blossom democratic values and further constitutional ideals. An Institution is well served when it is conscious of certain limitations. Some limitations are obvious, some limitations are very fine, they are subtle. Let these sacred platforms – judiciary, legislature and executive — not be trigger points of political inflammatory debate or narrative that is detrimental to the established institutions that serve the nation well in a challenging and daunting environment,” Dhankhar said.
“Our Institutions, all kinds of Institutions ,Elections Commission, the investigative agencies they perform duty under tight situations, an observation can despirit them. It can set a political debate afloat. It can trigger a narrative. We have to be extremely conscious about our Institutions. They are robust, they are working independently, they are under checks and balances. They work under rule of law. In that situation, if we work in a manner to just generate some sensation, to become a focal point or epicenter of a political debate or a narrative that I will appeal to the concerned is wholly avoidable,” he added.
This comes days after the apex court judge observed that the Central Bureau of Investigation must dispel the notion of it being a “caged parrot”.
“In a functional democracy governed by the rule of law, perception matters. Like Caesar’s wife, an investigating agency must be above board. Not long ago, this court has castigated the CBI comparing it to a caged parrot. It is imperative that CBI dispels the notion of it being a caged parrot. Rather, the perception should be that of an uncaged parrot,” Justice Ujjal Bhuyan said while granting bail to
Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal in a corruption case linked to the alleged liquor scam.
Following the judge’s remarks, the Aam Aadmi Party launched a strong criticism of the BJP-led central government and Union home minister Amit Shah. Delhi Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj called for the resignation of the Union home minister, arguing that the Supreme Court‘s comments raise questions about his leadership.
“The Union home minister should resign as this raises questions on him. The Supreme Court called the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) a caged parrot,” Bharadwaj said to the media after the top court’s judgment.
