Dhankhar should focus on improving the behaviour of lawmakers instead of targeting the judiciary

In his address at the inauguration of the 83rd All India Conference of Presiding Officers’ in Jaipur on Thursday, Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar expressed his anguish over the manner in which lawmakers in the country behave. He rightly pointed out that people’s representatives — be it the Members of Parliament and of Legislative Assemblies and Councils — should follow rules and maintain decorum. How can MLAs, MLCs, and MPs swear by the Constitution and law, and yet blatantly flout rules and throw decorum to the winds, he asked. A pertinent question which, unfortunately, political parties are not interested in answering. Dhankhar reminded the audience that the Constituent Assembly, during its 11 sessions spread over almost three years, dealt with some of the most critical and sensitive issues, but there was not a single instance of disruption or disturbance. Dialogue, discussion, and debates were keys to decision making in the Constituent Assembly, he added. This is a timely reminder to our political class which would serve the nation and itself well by emulating rather than worshipping the leaders of that era. Idolatry is easy and emulation — especially that of great men and women — is difficult, but still our political masters can at least try to be like Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel, and BR Ambedkar.

Dhankhar also rightly said that the judiciary, the executive, and the legislature should confine themselves to their respective domains and conform to the highest standards of propriety and decorum. That indeed is the sine qua non of a healthy democracy. But his remarks on the supremacy of Parliament were not very accurate. His belief that Parliament has the absolute right to amend the Constitution, which “is not subject to any other authority,” is misplaced. Even more objectionable is his attack on the basic structure doctrine. In 1973, in the Kesavananda Bharati case, the Supreme Court came up with this doctrine, asserting that Parliament has the right to amend the Constitution but not alter its (the Constitution’s) basic structure. In a way, the doctrine is tautological: the basic structure of any constitution — or, for that matter, anything else—cannot be changed unless you want to change the entire thing. The basic structure of a constitution can be changed by only those people who do not believe in it. The fact that the Vice-President of the nation says such a thing makes it even more unacceptable. The tautology became a bold statement by the legendry SC justice HR Khanna, as judiciary was made to fight the forces of dictatorship that were gaining strength at that time. This is the reason that no politician, not even from the Congress, has attacked this doctrine. In fact, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram has supported the doctrine,. Dhankhar should focus on improving the behaviour of lawmakers instead of targeting the judiciary.