NEW DELHI: Amid the ongoing tussle between government and judiciary, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Thursday asserted that legislation is the exclusive preserve of the Parliament and it’s not optional.
Addressing the 16th Civil Services Day, Dhankhar said the doctrine of separation of powers, among the three wings, legislature, judiciary and the executive, has to be observed, if Indian democracy has to blossom and sustain.
“These constitutional entities can ill afford to weaponise authority by effecting incursions in the domain of the other. Legislature, judiciary and executive serve best while functioning in their respective domain…Parliament alone is in-charge of legislation and competent to enforce it. Legislation is the exclusive preserve of the Parliament, the most authentic reflector of the will of the people at large. It’s not optional, it’s not negotiable and that shall not be allowed to happen,” said the VP.
Although Dhankhar had expressed the view earlier also, the reiteration was significant because of the timing. It came amid what appeared to be a tussle between the Supreme Court and the Centre over the former taking it upon itself to adjudicate the demand for legal recognition of same-sex marriages despite the opposition from the government which maintains that the matter be left for the legislature.
In his address, Dhankhar said that the three wings needed to act in harmony and tandem to ensure that India achieved the greatness beckoning it.
The Vice President frowned upon the one-upmanship among institutions, saying that under the constitutional scheme of things, neither the legislature nor the judiciary can emerge as a powerful political actor and it is best left to the political class to define their respective spheres of influence. “We should not make an effort in an area which is beyond us,” he said.
In a veiled attack at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s comment on democracy at Cambridge University, Dhankar said it is indeed painful to suffer some who adopt an ostrich-like stance to India’s phenomenal growth and flourishing democratic values. He said “dangers are emanating from outfits”, including some foreign universities doubling up as centres of subversive anti-India activities out to demolish the country’s civilisational ethos and sully its growth.
The VP said, “Disturbing insights in the hidden agenda of the so-called elites in India is alarming and unfortunately getting reflected in our constitutional institution working. It is the responsibility of the Parliament to safeguard India’s national sovereignty and cultural integrity, from any kinds of threats internally or externally…In and out of the country they engage in misadventure to demean, decry, taint and tarnish our democracy and constitutional institutions. It is baffling why some amongst us enjoyably resort to self-goals when it comes to economic growth, policy-making and implementation! This unwholesome stance needs to be antidoted.”
Stating that the bureaucrats can unleash their best potential in the current regime, Dhankar said the 2018 amendment of the Prevention of Corruption Act to insert Section 17A was a “step in the right direction” for ensuring civil servants to discharge their duties properly. “It (the section) regulates investigation of issues regarding decisions taken by public servants in discharge of their official duties by providing prior approval of the authority concerned,” he said.
Dhankhar also claimed that “sanitisation of power corridors” of deeply embedded undesirable elements, who for long extra-legally leveraged governance, has been done by the government. He said the civil service had to suffer due to such middlemen.
He also spoke on the need for “uniformity in administration across the Union and states” as it was constitutionally imperative. The VP said, “However, the stance of some states on this count is a cause of concern. This scenario is straining the quality of the civil service apart from denting the federal system. There is an urgent need to smoothen out the issues so that efficacy and sublimity of civil service is not lost.”
In his over 50-minute long speech, Dhankhar also claimed that some bureaucrats at the state level wield more power than politicians as he called for introspection and their counselling so that they “fall in line with the spinal belief of civil service”.
Addressing the 16th Civil Services Day, Dhankhar said the doctrine of separation of powers, among the three wings, legislature, judiciary and the executive, has to be observed, if Indian democracy has to blossom and sustain.
“These constitutional entities can ill afford to weaponise authority by effecting incursions in the domain of the other. Legislature, judiciary and executive serve best while functioning in their respective domain…Parliament alone is in-charge of legislation and competent to enforce it. Legislation is the exclusive preserve of the Parliament, the most authentic reflector of the will of the people at large. It’s not optional, it’s not negotiable and that shall not be allowed to happen,” said the VP.
Although Dhankhar had expressed the view earlier also, the reiteration was significant because of the timing. It came amid what appeared to be a tussle between the Supreme Court and the Centre over the former taking it upon itself to adjudicate the demand for legal recognition of same-sex marriages despite the opposition from the government which maintains that the matter be left for the legislature.
In his address, Dhankhar said that the three wings needed to act in harmony and tandem to ensure that India achieved the greatness beckoning it.
The Vice President frowned upon the one-upmanship among institutions, saying that under the constitutional scheme of things, neither the legislature nor the judiciary can emerge as a powerful political actor and it is best left to the political class to define their respective spheres of influence. “We should not make an effort in an area which is beyond us,” he said.
In a veiled attack at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s comment on democracy at Cambridge University, Dhankar said it is indeed painful to suffer some who adopt an ostrich-like stance to India’s phenomenal growth and flourishing democratic values. He said “dangers are emanating from outfits”, including some foreign universities doubling up as centres of subversive anti-India activities out to demolish the country’s civilisational ethos and sully its growth.
The VP said, “Disturbing insights in the hidden agenda of the so-called elites in India is alarming and unfortunately getting reflected in our constitutional institution working. It is the responsibility of the Parliament to safeguard India’s national sovereignty and cultural integrity, from any kinds of threats internally or externally…In and out of the country they engage in misadventure to demean, decry, taint and tarnish our democracy and constitutional institutions. It is baffling why some amongst us enjoyably resort to self-goals when it comes to economic growth, policy-making and implementation! This unwholesome stance needs to be antidoted.”
Stating that the bureaucrats can unleash their best potential in the current regime, Dhankar said the 2018 amendment of the Prevention of Corruption Act to insert Section 17A was a “step in the right direction” for ensuring civil servants to discharge their duties properly. “It (the section) regulates investigation of issues regarding decisions taken by public servants in discharge of their official duties by providing prior approval of the authority concerned,” he said.
Dhankhar also claimed that “sanitisation of power corridors” of deeply embedded undesirable elements, who for long extra-legally leveraged governance, has been done by the government. He said the civil service had to suffer due to such middlemen.
He also spoke on the need for “uniformity in administration across the Union and states” as it was constitutionally imperative. The VP said, “However, the stance of some states on this count is a cause of concern. This scenario is straining the quality of the civil service apart from denting the federal system. There is an urgent need to smoothen out the issues so that efficacy and sublimity of civil service is not lost.”
In his over 50-minute long speech, Dhankhar also claimed that some bureaucrats at the state level wield more power than politicians as he called for introspection and their counselling so that they “fall in line with the spinal belief of civil service”.