New Delhi, Jul 22 (PTI) Several opposition MPs who had been at the receiving end of former Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar’s sharp words and had also attempted a no-confidence motion against him for allegedly being partisan were heaping praises on him after his sudden resignation.
Interestingly, some of them, who were pulled by Dhankhar in the Upper House for their conduct, even requested that he review his resignation and felt a “kisanputra” (son of a farmer) is being denied a dignified farewell.
Among those who often had run-ins with Dhankhar when he was the Chairman of Rajya Sabha was Congress chief and Leader of Opposition Mallikurjun Kharge, who had accused the Chair of not allowing him to speak in the House and raise matters of public importance.
The opposition maintained that traditionally, whenever the Leader of Opposition is on his feet, he is permitted to speak by the Chair, but Kharge alleged that he was not allowed to complete his point even when he was speaking.
Congress’ chief whip Jairam Ramesh also had been critical of Dhankhar, saying the vice president should remain neutral as an umpire and not act as a “cheerleader” for the government.
Dhankhar had kept a privilege notice moved by a BJP MP against Ramesh — for “continued disrespect to the Chair” — pending for a long time.
“All parties belonging to the INDIA group have had no option but to formally submit a no-confidence motion against the learned Hon’ble Chairman of the Rajya Sabha for the extremely partisan manner in which he has been conducting the proceedings of the Council of States,” Ramesh had said on X on the notice for a motion for Dhankhar’s removal.
However, after Dhankhar resigned, Ramesh said the prime minister must get Dhankhar to change his mind and that it will be in the nation’s interest.
“The PM’s non-post on X regarding Shri Jagdeep Dhankar’s forced resignation has only added to the mystery of his abrupt exit. Surely the PM could have been a bit more gracious–he is, after all, the supreme master of hypocrisy. The kisanputra is being denied even a dignified farewell,” Ramesh said in a post.
Noting that Dhankhar’s resignation is “quite unexpected”, he also said, “while presiding over Rajya Sabha yesterday he was his good jolly self!!” “Did the way he pro-actively handle the 2 impeachment motions (Justice Yadav & Verma) yesterday was the last straw!!” he asked.
Claiming that there is no doubt Dhankhar has to give topmost priority to his health, the Congress leader said, “Clearly there is far more to his totally unexpected resignation than meets the eye. This is not the time for speculation though.” “We wish him the best of health but also request him to reconsider his decision. We also expect the Prime Minister to get Mr. Dhankhar to change his mind. This will be in the nation’s interest. The farming community particularly will be greatly relieved.
“Jagdeep Dhankhar’s resignation speaks highly of him. It also speaks poorly of those who had got him elected as Vice President in the first instance,” Ramesh said.
Another former Union minister and eminent lawyer Kapil Sibal had also been at the receiving end of criticism by Dhankhar, who has been a practising lawyer.
Dhankhar had criticised Sibal for not spending enough time inside the House and for his statement on the rape and murder of a medical student at the RG Kar Hospital in Kolkata that termed the incident as “symptomatic malaise” and “commonplace”.
Expressing pain over the remarks, Dhankhar said he was appalled, pained and surprised that someone holding a position in the Supreme Court Bar and a Member of Parliament is acting in this manner.
“What a shame! Words fail me in condemning such a stance. It is doing the greatest injustice to the high position,” the then vice-president had said at an event.
However, after his resignation, Sibal said Dhankhar is a “nationalist and patriotic” and wished him good health.
“I did not feel nice and I had very good ties with him. There was no ill feeling. He used to speak his mind and not keep things in his heart,” Sibal said.
Sibal had made public remarks against Dhankhar for not acting on a notice to remove Justice Shekhar Yadav, submitted in December last year.
Trinamool Congress leader Derek O’Brien was frequently pulled by Dhankhar inside the House for disregarding the chair’s directives and for using ‘offensive’ language.
“Your conduct is ugliest in the House. I condemn this behaviour. Next time I will show you the door. How dare you shout at the Chair and senior leaders are not taking note of it,” Dhankhar once said in the House last year while targeting O’Brien for his conduct.
Dhankhar had also accused O’Brien of doing “theatrics” in the House to gain personal publicity while speaking on the Delhi Services bill.
The TMC member was suspended from the Rajya Sabha by Dhankhar for the remainder of the 2023 Winter session for his “unruly behaviour” and “misconduct”.
Several other TMC MPs, including Sagarika Ghosh, Saket Gokhale and Kalyan Banerjee, who had mimicked Dhankhar during an opposition protest in Parliament complex in December 2023, also had open spats in the House, with the Chair often reprimanding them.
Dhankhar had also rebuked AAP MPs Raghav Chadha and Sanjay Singh, both of whom were suspended from the House for a long tenure. He also had frequent verbal duels with actor-turned-politician Jaya Bachchan. She had demanded an apology from him for being “disrespectful towards women MPs”.
Congress leader and noted lawyer Abhishek Singhvi faced Dhankhar’s sharp words when a wad of Rs 500 currency notes was recovered from his seat in the upper house.
Bachchan had in August last year raised objection to Dhankhar’s “tone” while giving her floor to speak and he retorted that even a celebrity like her needs to follow decorum. PTI SKC SKC RT RT
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