New Delhi: The opposition INDIA bloc parties Tuesday submitted a notice to move a motion to remove from office Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, who is also ex-officio chairman of the Rajya Sabha, for his “partisan conduct” and taking it upon himself to be an “impassioned spokesperson of the [central] government’s policies in public forums across the country.”
The notice for removal of Rajya Sabha chairman is a first in India’s young parliamentary democracy.
Sources in the INDIA bloc said in the two-page notice submitted to Rajya Sabha secretary general P.C. Mody Tuesday, opposition parties have also said Dhankhar “repeatedly made disparaging comments about Members of the House belonging to opposition parties publicly, criticising any and every action taken by them where the leaders have expressed issues with the functioning of the ruling government.”
Congress Rajya Sabha MP Syed Naseer Hussain told ThePrint that at least 60 MPs from the Congress, All India Trinamool Congress, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Samajwadi Party, Aam Aadmi Party, Rashtriya Janata Dal, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, CPI and CPI(M) submitted a notice for a motion to to remove Dhankhar under Article 67(B) of the Constitution.
Article 67(B) states that the “Vice President may be removed from his office by a resolution of the Council of States passed by a majority of all the then members of the Council and agreed to by the House of the People; but no resolution for the purpose of this clause shall be moved unless at least fourteen days’ notice has been given of the intention to move the resolution.”
Sources from opposition parties said the notice cites articles/videos covering various instances where Dhankhar has “unjustly been critical of opposition members or their actions”.
Opposition parties, it is learnt, mentioned in the notice how Dhankhar has “repeatedly interrupted members of the Opposition while they are speaking, unfairly used privilege motions to silence leaders of the Opposition, and openly delegitimised dissent with respect to the actions of the government in the utmost disparaging manner.”
In the notice, opposition leaders have also pointed out how the Rajya Sabha chairman “repeatedly denied legitimate requests of the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha to intervene and rebut falsehoods propagated by the Prime Minister and the Leader of the House”.
Sources privy to the notice said that opposition MPs also mentioned how Dhankhar “recalled his past associations with so-called cultural organisations in a manner unbecoming of the high constitutional position that he occupies” and “criticised statements made by opposition leaders who are not members of the Rajya Sabha”.
Sources said that opposition leaders quoted in the notice how on 2 July, 2024, Dhankhar labelled himself as the “Eklavya of the RSS” while adding that he wished that he had “started his political career with the RSS itself”.
The House was adjourned soon after, following loud protests from the treasury benches over Congress leader Sonia Gandhi and her family’s alleged links with billionaire George Soros.
Also Read: ‘Disturbance as strategy’ threatens democracy—Dhankhar to Parliament in Constitution Day speech
‘Don’t have numbers, but fight is for democracy’
While the Opposition formally submitted a no-confidence motion against the Rajya Sabha chairman, it is unlikely to be effective even if admitted.
While Tuesday’s notice was signed by 60 MPs, the INDIA bloc parties who have submitted the motion together have 103 MPs in the Upper House. The bloc also has the support of Kapil Sibal, who is now an Independent MP.
This is far short of the majority in the Upper House, which has an effective strength of 245. While the BJP has 95 MPs in the Upper House, it has a total of 118 members with its allies. Besides, there are six nominated members aligned to the BJP.
The opposition MPs are aware this will be a futile attempt, but it was still “a fight against all those who want to ruin our Parliamentary system”, Trinamool Congress MP Sagarika Ghose told ThePrint. “At stake is the integrity of our parliamentary democracy itself and the solemn constitutional rights of every representative of the people.”
Ghose added, “We are hurt and disappointed in the chairman, who is the presiding officer and protector of Parliament. BJP is trying to misuse the high constitutional office and make it subservient to the executive power.”
DMK’s Tiruchi Siva said the party had signed the notice because it wanted to protect parliamentary democracy.
Meanwhile, Congress general secretary (in-charge, communications), Jairam Ramesh posted on X: “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. It has been a very painful decision for the INDIA parties to take, but in the interests of parliamentary democracy they have had to take this step.”
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. It has…
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) December 10, 2024
From the beginning of Parliament’s Winter Session, opposition MPs in Rajya Sabha protested Dhankhar’s alleged one-sidedness soon after he did not admit their notice under Rule 267 (Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Rajya Sabha) to allow a discussion on a host of issues, including Manipur and Gautam Adani’s indictment in the US over bribery charges.
What happens now
A senior official in the Rajya Sabha secretariat said the notice has to be first admitted by the secretary general before a motion can be moved. “In this particular case, the notice has just been submitted. We have to see if it is as per procedure and valid. As per Article 67(B) of the Constitution, at least 14 days’ notice has to be given by MPs declaring their intention to move a resolution against the chair,” he added.
The Winter Session has just eight days left. It began on 25 November, and will end on 20 December.
Incidentally, a notice moved in a particular session of Parliament also lapses when the House is prorogued. “The Opposition will have to submit a fresh notice in the next session if they want to pursue this,” Vivek Agnihotri, former Rajya Sabha secretary general, told ThePrint.
Agnihotri said the notice for removing the chairman was “merely symbolic”.
“The opposition knows well it does not have the numbers in either House. A motion to remove the Vice President has to be passed by both the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha by a majority,” he said.
(Edited by Tikli Basu)
Also read: INDIA bloc moves no-confidence motion against Rajya Sabha chairman Dhankar for ‘partisan’ conduct
Nothing happens. He will now take revenge of the opposition. He is a vengeful person.not a good person. He will mis treat opposition even more.
Dhankar ji is just like that outsider who is trying his best to join the BJP and it’s upper caste bandwagon but does not understand that he will remain an outcaste for them like all hindu sc, st and obc no matter what he does a he is a pawn for them to take votes of sc, st, obc