The Constitution is the foundation underlying the structure of governance. The vice-president of India and the chairman of the Rajya Sabha, Jagdeep Dhankhar, however, chooses to elevate the interests of the ruling party above his constitutional duties. This was clear during his tenure as the governor of West Bengal, an Opposition state, and was prominent also in certain episodes in his current tenure as Rajya Sabha chairman. The recent summons to the Communist Party of India (Marxist) member of Parliament, John Brittas, nominated from Kerala, by the Rajya Sabha secretariat was unprecedented. Mr Brittas had to ‘brief’ the chairm­an about a newspaper article he had written in response to the Union home minister’s ‘insinuations’ about Kerala during his election campaign in Karnataka. That had been brought to Mr Dhankhar’s notice by a Bharatiya Janata Party official from Kerala who accused Mr Brittas of ‘sedition’. The Rajya Sabha chairman acting on the complaint of a ruling party member is astonishing enough, since constitutional positions are above bias. Besides, sedition is a criminal offence, however misplaced, and the chairman cannot address it. Mr Brittas exercised his right of free speech as an Indian citizen. His criticism of Amit Shah’s remarks was based on the prohibition on causing enmity because of place of birth and residence, among other things. But the government’s clampdown on dissent has no regard for proprieties; constitutional offices are openly used to silence it.

Since Mr Brittas cast no reflection on another MP, Parliament or its committees and wrote as a citizen, the ‘breach of privilege’ rule would not, normally, apply to him. Yet, reportedly, he has been asked to give a written explanation. In brief then, a BJP office-bearer’s accusation led the chairman and vice-president to demand a written explanation from a Rajya Sabha MP from the Opposition even after the MP had responded to an unprecedented summons. The violation not just of freedom of speech but also of the basic rules that govern Parliament cannot be unintentional; it would seem to be part and parcel of the Narendra Modi-led government’s attempts to erode the Constitution. That is related to the apparent drive to make the BJP and its purposes dominate all positions, principles and rules of governance. But even then, the people will decide whether repeated silencing is enough to undermine the Constitution.