Everything court said 'guided by national interest': Sibal after Dhankhar slams critics

New Delhi: With Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar hitting out at his critics for questioning his remarks on a recent Supreme Court order, Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal on Tuesday said everything the court has said is consistent with the country's constitutional values and guided by national interest.

Sibal's remarks in a post on X came soon after Dhankhar asserted that every word spoken by a constitutional authority is guided by supreme national interest. A top court bench had recently prescribed a three-month timeline for the president to decide on bills reserved by governors for her nod.

Reacting to the directive, Dhankhar had said that the judiciary cannot play the role of a "super parliament" and get into the domain of the executive.

Addressing a Delhi University event, Dhankhar, who is also the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, said every word spoken by a constitutional functionary is guided by the supreme sublime interest of the nation.

"I find it conceivably intriguing that some have recently reflected that constitutional offices can be ceremonial, ornamental. Nothing can be far distanced from a wrong understanding of the role of everyone in this country -- constitutional functionary or a citizen," he said.

In a post on X, Sibal said, "Supreme Court: Parliament has the plenary power to pass laws. Supreme Court has the obligation to interpret the Constitution and do complete justice (Article 142)." "Everything the Court said is: Consistent with our constitutional values; guided by national interest," the Independent Rajya Sabha MP and former Congress leader said.

Sibal had slammed Dhankhar last Friday for questioning the judiciary over the timeline for the president to take decisions, saying this is "unconstitutional" and he had never seen any Rajya Sabha chairman make "political statements" of this nature.

A day after Dhankhar used strong words against the judiciary, Sibal asserted that the Lok Sabha Speaker and the Rajya Sabha Chairman remain equidistant between the opposition and the ruling party, and cannot be the "spokesperson of the party".

"Everyone knows that the Lok Sabha Speaker's chair is in between. He or she is the Speaker of the House, not the speaker of one party. They also don't vote, they only vote when there is a tie. The same is with the upper house. You are equidistant between the opposition and the ruling party," the senior advocate had said.

"Everything you say must be equidistant. No speaker can be the spokesperson of a party. I don't say that he (Dhankhar) is but no Speaker in principle can be the spokesperson of any party. If it appears so then the dignity of the chair is lowered," Sibal asserted.

Dhankhar last Thursday questioned the judiciary setting a timeline for the president to take decisions and act as a "super Parliament", saying the Supreme Court cannot fire a "nuclear missile" at democratic forces.