Amid the ongoing judiciary versus executive order, Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Tuesday said the Parliament is supreme and the elected representatives are its ultimate masters.

Speaking at an event in Delhi University, he asserted that there is no visualisation in the Constitution of any authority above parliament.

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“Parliament is supreme and that being the situation, let me tell you, it is as supreme as every individual in the country. Part of ‘We the people’ is an atom in democracy and that atom has atomic power. That atomic power is reflected during elections and that is why we are a democratic nation,” Dhankhar said.

Referring to the Constitution, he said, “The Constitution is encapsulated, its essence, its worth, its nectar, in the Preamble of the Constitution. And what does it say? ‘we, the people of India’, the supreme power is with them. No one is above the people of India. And we, the people of India, under the Constitution, have chosen to reflect their aspirations, their desires, and their will through their public representatives.”

The VP said they hold the representatives accountable—severely accountable, on occasions, through elections.

In an apparent reference to former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, Dhankhar said, “A Prime Minister who imposed ‘Emergency’ was held accountable in 1977. And therefore, let there be no doubt about it: the Constitution is for the people, and its repository of safeguarding is that of the elected representatives. They are the ultimate masters as to what the Constitution’s content will be.”

Reflecting on the duty of citizens in democracy, the VP said, “Democracy is not only for the government to govern. It is participatory democracy, just not laws, but also culture and ethos. Citizenship demands action, not merely status….Democracy is shaped not by governments, democracy is shaped by individuals. Because individuals bear the responsibility to uphold our symbols, preserve our heritage, defend sovereignty, foster brotherhood……”

He said the government has a role that does not become a handicap.

Underlining the significance of quality of discourse in any healthy democracy, Dhnakhar said, “If you want to know the health of democracy, like the health of an individual, if you want to analyse how healthy is our democracy, then you will have to find out discourse quality, the kind of discourse we have.

“Is our discourse moderated? Is our discourse manipulated? Is our discourse controlled by moneybags, by muscle power, by foreign interests, by people working against the interests of this nation? You will have to discern,” he said.

Citing freedom of expression, he said democracy thrives through expression and dialogue.

“Abhivyakti aur samvaad are the core mantras of democracy. These are the basic mantras. If your right of expression is throttled or regulated, as was done during the Emergency, democracy nosedives.

“But if you have the right of expression, and that expression reflects arrogance and ego—where you believe your expression is ultimate, where you refuse to entertain any different point of view, refuse to even look at the other side—that too is not a true expression as per our civilization,” Dhankhar said.

He also emphasized the role of youth in nation-building,

“The quality of discourse defines our democracy and in this, I have no doubt, our youth must elevate beyond partisanship to thoughtful deliberation. We are destined to be a global power. We will be a developed nation. You cannot be tied down to partisan interests; you have to believe only in national interests,” the VP added.