Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Wednesday said access to judiciary has been weaponized in recent years, posing a great challenge to governance.

Interacting with a batch of participants from the Indian Institute of Democratic Leadership (IIDL), he said, “We have a fundamental right in the country, and the right is we can access the judiciary. It’s a fundamental right. But in the last few decades, access to the judiciary has been weaponized! It has been weaponized, to another level, it is posing a great challenge to our governance, our democratic values”.

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Expressing concern over the current situation, he stated, “ Day in and day out, you’ll find advisories emanating, executive functions being performed by bodies that have no jurisdiction or jurisprudential authority or competence to perform those actions. To put it in layman’s language, a tehsildar can never record an FIR. How so very strongly he may feel.

“Because our constitution ordains institutions to work within their own domain. Are they working? I’ll answer for you, no”.

The Vice-President went on to say, “Institutions are yielding ground to other institutions, and that is being done out of expediency. These placatory mechanisms may result in short-term gain, but they cause incalculable spinal damage in the long run. And therefore I urge you, you have to think.

“Once you think, connect with the people. Make them aware no nation is as rich in human resources as Bharat. But we have to audit ourselves. We can’t rest on laurels that are surficial.”

Posing a question to the participants about the provision of Whip in Parliament, he wondered why there should be a whip.

”Whip means you are curtailing expression, you are curtailing freedom, you are subjecting your representative to servility. You don’t allow such a person to use his or her mind. Examine whether the US has a whip or not, find out in the last ten years how decisions of the Senate have been influenced by persuasion. But when you issue a whip, there is no persuasion.

“To persuade whom?…….Political parties are supposed to promote democracy, but do the elected representatives have the freedom of expression? Whip comes in the way,” he added.

Reflecting on the disruptions in Parliament, Mr Dhankhar observed that Parliament, which was once considered a temple of democracy, has now become a wrestling ground, a battleground. ”Is there anything left to see, anything left to hear? People have forgotten the word ‘decorum,’ and there is no concept of dignity anymore,” he lamented.

“Chaos, disruption, disturbance and the like, is remote controlled in the house. They step in the temple with firm determination to carry out a command that this day is a day of dysfunction in the parliament or legislature. Examine it!”, he added.

Talking about the need for talented people in politics, the Vice-President emphasised, “We need trained people in policy making. We need trained people who know politics. It is not easy to hold the government accountable. The only way to hold the government accountable is through the platform of the legislature.

“And mind you, when you hold the government accountable, you are helping the government. Anyone would like to improve, but someone has to tell him or her that these are the areas of concern where you need improvement”.