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Never seen any RS chairperson make such political comments: Sibal on Dhankhar’s judiciary remarks

Rajya Sabha member Kapil Sibal slammed Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Friday for questioning the judiciary over the timeline for the President to take decisions, saying this is “unconstitutional” and he had never seen any Rajya Sabha chairman make “political statements” of this nature.

A day after the Vice President used strong words against the judiciary, Mr. Sibal asserted that the Lok Sabha Speaker and the Rajya Sabha Chairman remain equidistant between the Opposition and the ruling party, and cannot be the “spokesperson of the party”.

“Everyone knows that the Lok Sabha Speaker’s chair is in between. He or she is the Speaker of the House, not the speaker of one party. They also don’t vote, they only vote when there is a tie. The same is with the Upper House. You are equidistant between the Opposition and the ruling party,” the senior advocate said at a press conference in New Delhi.

“Everything you say must be equidistant. No speaker can be the spokesperson of a party. I don’t say that he (Dhankhar) is but no Speaker in principle can be the spokesperson of any party. If it appears so then the dignity of the chair is lowered,” Mr. Sibal asserted.

Mr. Dhankhar on Thursday questioned the judiciary setting a timeline for the President to take decisions and act as a “super Parliament”, saying the Supreme Court cannot fire a “nuclear missile” at democratic forces.

Mr. Dhankhar’s strong words to the judiciary came during his speech to Rajya Sabha interns, days after the Supreme Court sought to fix a timeline for the President to grant assent to the bills reserved for her consideration by the governor.

Mr. Sibal said he was saddened and surprised by the statement of Mr. Dhankhar.

“Judicial institutions - high courts or Supreme Courts, if there is faith in any institution, it is the judiciary. I feel that when government people do not like the decisions of the judiciary then they start accusing that it (judiciary) has gone beyond its limit. When they like it and the Opposition says something then they say it is the decision of the Supreme Court,” the former Congress leader said.

“When someone raises questions about Article 370 or Ramjanam bhoomi judgment, the government people point out that it is a Supreme Court decision,” he said.

“When (Justice J.B,) Pardiwala judgment came they say how can the Supreme Court say this. The judgment which you do not like is wrong and which is as per your thinking, it is fine. It is not right for a Constitutional functionary to say such a thing,” he said referring to Mr. Dhakhar’s remarks.