"Does not deserve to remain in post of VP:" TMC leader Kalyan Banerjee demands resignation of Jagdeep Dhankhar

New Delhi [India], April 18 (ANI): Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Kalyan Banerjee on Friday attacked Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar after the latter criticised the Supreme Court and demanded the resignation of the Rajya Sabha Chairman.
"Vice President of India Jagdeep Dhankhar has criticised the Supreme Court in a very derogatory manner. This is not expected. The Vice President is a constitutional authority. He cannot attack a constitutional institution, which is one of the pillars of our democracy. He is doing this repeatedly. The way he has attacked the Supreme Court, he does not deserve to remain in the post of Vice President of India. He should resign immediately," Dhankhar told ANI.
Kalyan Banerjee's reaction follows Dhankhar's comments, which appeared to criticise the judiciary for overstepping its bounds. VP Dhankar had stated that "Article 142 has become a nuclear missile against Democratic forces, available to the judiciary 24 x 7."
Speaking at the Valedictory Function of the sixth Rajya Sabha Internship Programme at the Vice-President's Enclave, Dhankhar proposed an amendment to Article 145(3), which deals with the composition of the bench required to decide substantial questions of constitutional law.
"We cannot have a situation where you direct the President of India and on what basis? The only right you have under the Constitution is to interpret the Constitution under Article 145(3). There, it has to be five judges or more. When Article 145(3) was there, the number of judges in the Supreme Court was eight, 5 out of 8, now 5 out of 30 and odd. But forget about it; the judges who issued a mandamus virtually to the President and presented a scenario that it would be the law of the land have forgotten the power of the Constitution. How can that combination of judges deal with something under Article 145(3) if preserved, it was then for five out of eight. We also need to make amends for that now. Five out of eight would mean interpretation will be by majority. Well, five constitutes more than the majority in eight. But leave that aside. Article 142 has become a nuclear missile against Democratic forces, available to the judiciary 24 x 7," Dhankar said.
He further stated that a structured platform will be established to provide the public with comprehensive and authentic information on legislative activities in the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha. (ANI)