Thongdok attends 6th India Region CPA meet

Itagar, Feb 19: Aruchal Pradesh Legislative Assembly Speaker Tenzing Norbu Thongdok has said that the press and civil society are invaluable for survival and sustence of democracy.

Thongdok said this while addressing the 6th India Region Commonwealth Parliamentarians’ Association meet at Bihar Vidhan Sabha on Sunday while speaking on ‘Legislature and Judiciary— two important pillars of democracy’, an official report said here on Monday.

“The invaluable position of these two further pillars in our functiol democracy cannot be underestimated,” the Speaker said while calling press and the civil society as fourth and fifth pillars of democracy.

Highlighting the Supreme Court Controversy where four of the senior Supreme Court judges alleged lack of transparency in the selection of judges to try cases, he criticized that it should not be the job of the judges to cherry pick lawyers for desigting senior advocates.

“I persolly feel that there should be strict separation of the bench from the bar. If judges of subordite judiciary have to pass competitive exams for their appointment, there is no reason why competitive exams should not be prescribed for elevation of judges to High Courts and Supreme Court of India,” Thongdok said.

The speaker also demanded the constitutiol provisions concerning removal of judges should be revisited.

“Complaints against judges must not only emate from MPs of either House of Parliament, but should also be allowed to come from MLAs of State Legislatures and from the general public,” he further added.