Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar.
By G Krishna Mohan Rao*
New Delhi: The unprecedented move by the Opposition (India Bloc) to remove the Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman, Jagdeep Dhankhar, on charges of being partisan, is likely to fail and the motion will fall short of the required 50 per cent (116 votes) to do so. The opposition has got only 86.
But the real story is not the numbers but the message in the move to censure the Rajya Sabha Chairman. And this is a message of distrust between the Treasury and Opposition benches, across the Parliament not just in Rajya Sabha. It indicates the increased scrutiny and criticism of Constitutional posts in an environment characterised by extreme polarization.
The Opposition had been threatening this move for a few sessions but held its hand. Now it has chosen to act. Politically speaking, this is the most embarrassing period for Chairman Dhankhar, when the House is taking up the debate on Monday, December 16, 2024, on the glorious journey of 75 years of the Constitution of India. It is obvious that the move against Dhankhar is the fallout of a breakdown in communication between the Treasury and Opposition benches.
Dhankhar becomes the first Vice President of India to face an ouster attempt, and the effect of this notice— sure to be defeated if put to vote— will be far-reaching and long-lasting. The move threatens to diminish and question the authority of the Rajya Sabha Chair, an independent institution. Running the Rajya Sabha has never been an easy task, and the polarised state of politics inside and outside Parliament has not made Dhankhar’s job any easier.
The Opposition has accused Dhankhar of frequently interrupting the speeches, particularly those of the Congress President and Leader of the Opposition in the Upper House, Mallikarjun Kharge. The Opposition Members have also accused Dhankhar of denying adequate debate on “critical issues”. They claimed that Dhankhar had violated parliamentary norms and mentioned instances in the notice that Kharge’s microphone was turned off during his address.
The Opposition (INDIA bloc) also pointed out instances where Dhankhar allegedly made personal remarks against members. They further alleged that the Chairman displayed favouritism towards ruling party members during contentious debates. In fact, Mallikarjun Kharge held a press conference in New Delhi’s Constitution Club and hurled a volley of charges against Dhankhar, accusing him of behaving like a “spokesman of the government for his next promotion”.
Kharge went on to allege that Dhankhar was the biggest disrupter in the Upper House. “Rajya Sabha chairpersons never indulged in politics and ran the House according to rules. But now, politics is prevailing over the rules. On May 16, 1952, Vice President Dr Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan had said, I don’t belong to any party. Which means I am associated with every party. But we are pained by the biased, partisan behaviour,” Kharge said. He added, “We were compelled to bring a motion. In the past three years, he has often praised the government. He called himself as (part of) RSS [Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh]. He sees the opposition leaders as his adversaries. He insulted both senior and junior leaders,” Kharge said and concluded by saying that the “Opposition is fed up with Dhankhar’s partiality. We have brought the notice with the sole purpose of safeguarding the Constitution”.
Chairman Dhankhar so far has indirectly counter-attacked Congress-led parties and leaders, that there is an ongoing effort to divide the country and insult its institutions which must be defeated. He said that there are forces in the country, and outside which are unable to digest India’s progress. There is a well-planned effort going on to disintegrate the country. Leader of the Rajya Sabha and Union Minister JP Nadda strongly came in favour of the Vice President and strongly criticised the Leader of the Opposition Kharge for holding a press conference to attack Dhankhar.
The Opposition moved the resolution on Tuesday, December 10, 2024, by about 60 odd MPs.This is not an impeachment motion. The Vice President can’t be impeached. This is a resolution brought by the opposition against the Vice President to remove him. This is a simple resolution. Now a notice has been given with a time limit of 14 days to move it. And that a notice can’t be taken up before the completion of 14 days of the notice period.
After the completion of the notice period, the issue can be taken up at any time. Either there should be a special sitting, or it will be forwarded to the next session, following the fact that the resolution does not lapse as it is a Constitutional resolution, as provided in the Constitution. Obviously, since the present winter session of Parliament is only up to December 20, 2024, the resolution would be taken up only in the Budget Session of the Parliament in 2025.
*Senior journalist
