VP Dhankhar warns against undermining institutions after SC’s ‘caged parrot’ comment on CBI

Institutions, including Election Commission and investigative agencies, perform their duty under tight situations and an observation can “despirit” them, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar has said.

He also said that one has to be “extremely conscious” about the country’s institutions, which are robust and are working independently under the rule of law with suitable checks and balances.

His remarks at an event in Mumbai on Sunday came against the backdrop of a Supreme Court judge observing on Friday that probe agency must be above board and the Central Bureau of investigation (CBI) should dispel notion of it being a caged parrot.

Observing that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest by the CBI in the excise policy case was unjustified, Supreme Court judge Justice Ujjal Bhuyan had slammed the agency, and said it must dispel the notion of being a caged parrot.

Addressing the event, Dhankhar said all organs of the State have one common objective: that the common man should get all the rights and India should flourish and prosper.

“They need to work in tandem and togetherness to nurture and blossom democratic values and further Constitutional ideals… Let these sacred platforms — the Legislature, the Executive and the Judiciary — not be trigger points of political inflammatory debate that is detrimental to established institutions that serve the nation well in challenging and daunting environment,” the vice president said.

While referring to institutions, he mentioned the Election Commission and investigative agencies.

He was of the view that institutions perform their duty under tight situations and observations can “despirit” them.

“It can set a political debate afloat and trigger a narrative. We have to be extremely conscious about our Institutions. They are robust, they are working independently under rule of law and there are suitable checks and balances,” Dhankhar said.

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