In a sense, I am also a sufferer: VP Dhankhar

Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Monday agreed with the Chief Justice of India BR Gavai and said it is important to adhere to protocol, mentioning the absence of the vice-president's portrait next to those of the president and the prime minister.

The vice-president while talking at a book launch event in Delhi said, "You must have seen the photograph of the president and the prime minister, but not of the vice-president. Once I demit office, I'll ensure that my successor has a photograph." 

“In a sense, I am also a sufferer”, the Vice-President said.

Gavai attended a felicitation programme by the Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa on Sunday in Mumbai, where he stated that the Constitution of India is supreme, and that its pillars must support each other.

"Neither the judiciary nor the executive and the Parliament is supreme, but it is the Constitution of India which is supreme, and all the three wings have to work as per the Constitution." 

Furthermore, he conveyed discontent over the absence of Maharashtra’s Chief Secretary, Director General of Police or the city police commissioner to receive him during what was his first visit to Maharashtra.

After CJI's remarks, all three top officials were present when Gavai visited Chaityabhoomi, the cremation place of BR Ambedkar, to pay his respects.

On Monday, the VP said that protocol is placed very high for the Chief Justice of India, “When he indicated the same, it was not personal, ” adding that this morning he was reminded of "something very critical in the country, and that is not for oneself ... we must believe in protocol".

The vice-president added that he was beholden to the present CJI for inviting attention to the people in the bureaucracy. “Adherence to protocol is fundamental." 

He also talked about the legislature, the judiciary, or the executive being the organs of the Constitution, and that it is fundamental that each institution maintains what he calls constitutional boundary limitation.