When a leader says too much

India’s Vice-President, Mr Dhankhar, recently said some strong things about the Supreme Court — things that many people think he really shouldn’t have said.

Let’s break it down.

The Vice-President of India is mostly a ceremonial leader. That means he doesn’t make big decisions like the Prime Minister or the Supreme Court. His main job is to lead the Rajya Sabha, which is the upper house of Parliament. So, when it comes to matters like court cases, laws, or politics, the Vice-President is supposed to stay neutral and not take sides or criticize.

But Mr Dhankhar went way beyond that. He said the Supreme Court acts like a “super Parliament,” and that judges aren’t held responsible for what they do. Then, he said that a special power the court has (called Article 142) is like a “nuclear missile” that the judges can use at any time. That’s a very extreme and serious thing to say — especially from someone in his position.

Even more surprising, he said all this at an event for students who were doing an internship with the Rajya Sabha. That made his words even more out of place, because it’s not okay to speak like that when you’re supposed to be encouraging young people about how democracy works.

Also, Mr Dhankhar suggested changing another part of the Constitution — Article 145(3), which talks about how Supreme Court judges should be chosen for important cases. But again, that’s not really something the Vice-President is supposed to speak about.

It’s fine for any person to have opinions, even strong ones. But when someone holds a high position like Vice-President, they’re expected to act carefully and respectfully, especially when talking about other important parts of the government like the courts.

So, the big idea here is: if you’re in a role that’s supposed to be fair and neutral, your words carry a lot of weight. That means you have to be extra careful about what you say — and where you say it.