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Congress General Secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala on Friday registered his disagreement with Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar over the latter's fierce criticism of the Supreme Court's ruling on the prescribed timeline for deciding on bills, saying that the apex court putting constitutional "fetters" on the powers of Governors and President was "timely, accurate and courageous".
He said that the "President of India must come forward and salute the supremacy of the Constitution above all else." "I hold the Hon'ble Vice President of India in great esteem, both for his wisdom and eloquence, but I respectfully disagree with his formulation. The Supreme Court judgement putting Constitutional fetters on the power of Governors and the President of India is timely, accurate, and courageous and corrects the notion that 'those holding high offices are above any fetters or imposition of checks and balances' in the exercise of their powers," Surjewala posted on X. The Congress leader argued that only the constitution was supreme and the decisions made by the Parliament and legislatures were subject to "judicial review" since the democracy in this country was founded upon the fundamental principle of "will of people". "No office, be it of President or Prime Minister or Governor, is so elevated as to be above the fetters of Constitutional propriety. Our democracy is founded upon the fundamental principle of the 'will of people' expressed through elected Parliament and Legislatures. Hence, the highest bodies are the Parliament and Legislatures. Even their decisions and law making powers are subject to 'judicial review' by courts on the touchstone of Constitutionality," Surjewala said. Questioning the Vice President over his remarks, the Congress leader said that if the President or Governors hold "unchecked power", it would go against the "tenets of democracy", which would leave the Parliament and legislatures "powerless and helpless". "Let's test it on another hypothesis - Can the President be said to have unilateral or unchecked power to hold on to giving assent to the Laws passed by Parliament or Legislatures (vested by the Constitution to enact laws by majority mandate) for indefinite periods? If the President or Governors were to have such (unilateral or unchecked) power, it will go against the very tenets of democracy for the elected Parliament and Legislatures will be rendered powerless and helpless," Surjewala asserted. (ANI)
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