22-07-2025
Vice President Dhankhar's Tenure Marked by Persistent Queries on NJAC and Basic Structure
Jagdeep Dhankhar NJAC speech, cut short by his sudden resignation from the constitutional office late on Monday evening, was peppered with controversies as he took on not just the Opposition but also the judiciary on several occasions. It came after a term as West Bengal Governor during which he had a run-in with the TMC government in the state on several issues.
In 2022, he began his Rajya Sabha Chairman stint on a controversial note in the Winter Session as he said the Supreme Court's 2015 judgment striking down the National Judicial Appointments Commission NJAC Act was a 'glaring instance' of 'severe compromise' of parliamentary sovereignty and disregard of the 'mandate of the people'.
He said Parliament, as the custodian of the 'ordainment of the people', was duty-bound to 'NJAC vs Basic Structure doctrine issue' and expressed confidence that 'it will do so'. His remarks, which he made in the House on December 7, were a repetition of what he had said a week earlier.
Dhankhar also said it was time for 'all constitutional institutions to reflect and give quietus to public display of adversarially challenging stance/trading or exchange of advisories emanating from these platforms'. His comments came at a time when the Opposition was planning to seek a discussion in the House on alleged government interference in the working of constitutional bodies, including a judicial independence India. A month earlier, then Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju had said the Collegium system of appointing judges was 'opaque' and 'not accountable' and 'alien' to the Basic Structure of Constitution. His remarks had invited the displeasure of Jagdeep Dhankhar Supreme Court remarks.
