Attack on judiciary: Congress on Dhankhar's Kesavananda Bharati case verdict

The Congress on Thursday described Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhars remarks questioning the landmark 1973 Kesavananda Bharati case verdict as an extraordinary attack on the judiciary and said that a noholdsbarred assault on one constitutional institution by another was quite unprecedentedVice President Dhankhar had on Wednesday criticised the scrapping of the NJAC Act in 2015 and also questioned the Kesavananda Bharati case verdict saying it set a wrong precedent and that he disagrees with the Supreme Court ruling that Parliament can amend the Constitution but not its basic structureIn my 18 years as a MP Ive never heard anyone criticise the 1973 Kesavananda Bharati judgment of Supreme Court Congress general secretary incharge Jairam Ramesh said in a tweetAlso read DIP notice AAPs bank accounts should be seized says BJPIn 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 he saidIt also bears mention that a noholdsbarred assault on one Constitutional institution by another is quite unprecedented Ramesh said in another tweetHaving different views is one thing but the Vice President has taken the confrontation with the Supreme Court to an altogether different level he saidEarlier senior Congress leader P Chidambaram said Dhankhar is wrong in stating that Parliament is supreme and his views should warn every Constitutionloving citizen to be alert to the dangers aheadReacting to Dhankhars remarks Chidambaram a lawyer said on Twitter The Honble Chairman of the Rajya Sabha is wrong when he says that Parliament is supreme It is the Constitution that is supremeThe basic structure doctrine was evolved in order to prevent a majoritariandriven assault on the foundational principles of the Constitution the former Union minister saidSuppose Parliament by a majority voted to convert the parliamentary system into a Presidential system Or repeal the State List in Schedule VII and take away the exclusive legislative powers of the States Would such amendments be valid Chidambaram said in a series of tweetsAfter the NJAC Act was struck down nothing prevented the government from introducing a new Bill the senior Congress leader saidThe striking down of one Act does not mean that the basic structure doctrine is wrong he addedIn fact the Honble Chairmans views should warn every Constitutionloving citizen to be alert to the dangers ahead Chidambaram saidDhankhar had on Wednesday said oneupmanship and public posturing from judicial platforms is not good and these institutions must know how to conduct themselvesDhankhars virtual censure of the judiciary had come following the apex courts remarks on the issue of the collegium systemAddressing the 83rd All India Presiding Officers Conference in Jaipur Wednesday the RS Chairman who has criticised in and outside the House the striking down of the National Judicial Appointments Commission NJAC Act by the apex court said that it was a scenario perhaps unparalleled in the democratic history of the worldThe executive is ordained to be in compliance with the constitutional prescription emanating from Parliament It was obligated to adhere to the NJAC Judicial verdict cannot run it down he had saidHis statement came in the backdrop of a raging debate on the issue of appointment to the higher judiciary with the government questioning the current Collegium system and the Supreme Court defending it