New Delhi: Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Tuesday said that for any democracy, every citizen has a pivotal role. “I find it inconceivably intriguing that some have recently reflected that constitutional offices can be ceremonial or ornamental. Nothing can be far distanced from a wrong understanding of the role of everyone in this country, constitutional functionary or a citizen.” He was speaking at an event in New Delhi.
“According to me a citizen is supreme because a nation and democracy are built by citizens. Every one of them has a role. The soul of democracy resides and pulsates in every citizen. Democracy will blossom, its values will get heightened when citizen is alert, citizen contributes and what citizen contributes there is no substitution of that,” he pointed out.
Dhankhar 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, their will through their public representatives. And they hold the representatives accountable—severely accountable, on occasions —through elections.”
He pointed out, “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.”
