Extraordinary attack on Judiciary: Congress

Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh on Thursday dubbed Vice- President Jagdeep Dhankhar's criticism of Kesavananda Bharti Judgement an "extraordinary attack" on Judiciary.

"In my 18 years as an MP, I've never heard anyone criticise the 1973 Kesavananda Bharati judgment of Supreme Court. In fact, legal luminaries of BJP like Arun Jaitley hailed it as a milestone. Now, Chairman of Rajya Sabha says it was wrong. Extraordinary attack on the judiciary!" Ramesh said.

The reaction comes a day after the Vice-President insisted on Parliamentary supremacy.

Vice-President Dhankhar on Wednesday reiterated that the power of Parliament to amend the constitution and deal with legislation is not subject to any other authority and all constitutional institutions -- the judiciary, the executive and the legislature -- are required to confine to their respective domains and conform to the highest standard of propriety and decorum.

He was addressing the 83rd All India Presiding Officers' Conference at Rajasthan Vidhan Sabha here.

"Power of the Parliament to amend the constitution and deal with legislation is not subject to any other authority. This is the lifeline of democracy," he said.

"Democracy sustains and blossoms when the Legislature, the Judiciary and the Executive act in tandem and togetherness to fructify constitutional goals and realise aspirations of the people. The Judiciary cannot legislate as much as the Legislature cannot script a judicial verdict," the Vice-President added.

This morning, Congress leader P. Chidambaram too said that the Constitution is supreme and that the "V-P's views may be a warning signal".

"The Hon'ble Chairman of the Rajya Sabha is wrong when he says that Parliament is supreme. It is the Constitution that is supreme," he said.

"This may be a warning ahead. In fact, the Hon'ble Chairman's views should warn every Constitution-loving citizen to be alert to the dangers ahead," the Congress leader added.

He said the "basic structure" doctrine was evolved in order to prevent a majoritarian-driven assault on the foundational principles of the Constitution.