New Delhi: In response to the judicial outreach debate, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Tuesday reiterated that the “Parliament is supreme”. Jagdeep Dhankhar asserted that every word spoken by a constitutional authority is guided by the supreme national interest. He hit out at his critics for questioning his remarks on a recent Supreme Court order.
The Supreme Court had recently prescribed a three-month timeline for the President to decide on bills reserved by governors for its nod. Reacting to this, Dhankhar had said the judiciary couldn’t play the role of a “super parliament.” He had stated that the Supreme Court should not get into the domain of the executive.
There is no visualisation in the Constitution of any authority above Parliament.
Parliament is supreme; it is as supreme as every individual in the country.
Every part of ‘We the People’ is an atom in democracy. This atomic power is reflected during elections. That is why… pic.twitter.com/xE8MJigcXE
— Vice-President of India (@VPIndia) April 22, 2025
“I find it inconceivably intriguing that some have recently reflected that constitutional offices can be ceremonial or ornamental. Nothing can be far distanced from a wrong understanding of the role of everyone in this country, constitutional functionary or a citizen. According to me, a citizen is supreme because a nation and democracy are built by citizens. Every one of them has a role! The soul of democracy resides and pulsates in every citizen. Democracy will blossom, and its values will get heightened when a citizen is alert, a citizen contributes, and what a citizen contributes, there is no substitution for that,” Dhankhar said, while speaking at a Delhi University event on Tuesday.
“Parliament is supreme,” he asserted.
“A prime minister, who imposed the Emergency, was held accountable in 1977. Therefore, let there be no doubt about it – the Constitution is for the people and it’s a repository of safeguarding it… elected representatives… they are the ultimate masters as to what the Constitution’s content will be. There is no visualisation in the Constitution of any authority above Parliament. Parliament is supreme and that being the situation, let me tell you, it is as supreme as every individual in the country,” he said.
