New Delhi : After UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi had on December 21 accused the Centre of making a calculated attempt to “delegitimise” the judiciary and sought to drag Vice President Jagdeeep Dhankar in a row, the Rajya Sabha chairman has exception to Congress leader’s remarks.
“…The observations were with respect to what I said from this chair on December 8. The observations were to that extreme degree as chairman Rajya Sabha and Vice President can be enlisted by the ruling party to delegitimise judiciary,” the Vice President said in Rajya Sabha.
He said had he not reacted, it would have “demeaning consequences” and an impression sought to be imparted that the chair would become a party to a pernicious and sinister design at the instance of the government to deligitimise the judiciary.
“Delegitimising judiciary means the death knell of democracy. This partisan battle has to be settled inter se,” Dhankar emphasised.
The Rajya Sabha Chairman also stated, “I can assure the members that I engaged in massive homework with everyone who knows the subject, interacted with past secretary generals, and then concluded that I will be abjudicating my oath and I will be getting away from my constitutional obligation if I do not react.”
Dhankar has termed “inappropriate” the remarks made by UPA chairperson Gandhi to “deligitimise the judiciary” and urged political leaders not to subject high constitutional offices to partisan stances.
Union Minister and Leader of the Upper House, Piyush Goyal, said –even though the UPA chairperson is a member of the other House (Lok Sabha), she chose to cast “aspersions” on the very high office of the Chairman.
Asserting that high constitutional authorities should be respected, Goyal requested Congress members to reflect upon whether the comments were made in good taste and were appropriate and required at all in the first place, whether in the House or outside.
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