VP Dhankhar cautions against ‘dispiriting’ institutions like EC, probe agencies

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar inaugurates the Samvidhan Mandir at Elphinstone Technical High School & Jr. College in Mumbai on September 15, 2024
| Photo Credit: ANI

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar has cautioned the three organs of State — the judiciary, the executive, and the legislature — against “triggering points of political inflammatory debates or narratives that are detrimental to established institutions.” He said that these institutions are serving the nation well in a challenging and daunting environment. He was speaking at an event in Mumbai on Sunday (September 15, 2024).

“Our institutions: the Election Commission, investigative agencies, and others work in trying situations. An observation can dispirit them. It can start a political debate. It can trigger a narrative. We have to be extremely cautious about all our institutions,” he said in his speech.

The comments come after recent observations by the Supreme Court about the CBI in the matter of the arrest of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal. The apex court had observed that the CBI must be above board, and it must dispel the notion of it being a caged parrot.

He said this was avoidable. “They [the institutions] are robust. They are working independently. There are checks and balances. They work under the rule of law. In that situation, it might work in a manner to generate some sensation, to become the focal point of a political debate or a narrative. That I will appeal to those concerned is wholly avoidable.”

The VP was talking to young students. He said that all institutions and organs of the State worked with the underlying goal of making the Constitution successful.

“All organs of state — judiciary, legislature, executive — have only one goal. That the intention underlying the Constitution should be successful. The common man should get all the rights. India should flourish. They need to work in tandem and togetherness to nurture democratic values and further constitutional ideals.”

He also pointed out the limitations of each organ. “An institution is well served when it is conscious of certain limitations. Some limitations are obvious. Some limitations are very fine, subtle. This announces the sublimity and efficacy of our State,” he said.