Don't make partisan comment on constitutional offices: Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar to Sonia Gandhi

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar on Thursday slammed UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi for her remarks that attempts are being made to delegitimise the judiciary. Dhankar, who is also the Rajya Sabha chairman, said while Parliament is sovereign, the three wings of the government should work within their domain and no political party should "subject high constitutional offices to partisan stances''.

In a statement in Rajya Sabha, Dhankar said his attention was drawn to a statement made by Gandhi at a Congress meeting on December 21 where she said, "A troubling new development is the calculated attempt underway to delegitimise the judiciary. Ministers-and even a high constitutional authority-have been enlisted to make speeches attacking the judiciary on various grounds''.

Dhankar termed these remarks "severely inappropriate, indicating lack of faith in democracy", and said this has made it unavoidable for him to respond. "I would urge and expect leaders across the political spectrum to bear in mind not to subject high constitutional offices to partisan stances," Dhankar said.