New Delhi: The INDIA bloc’s move to remove from office Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, who is also ex-officio chairman of the Rajya Sabha, is a first for India’s young parliamentary democracy.
Opposition parties, led by the Congress, have accused Dhankhar of favouring the ruling treasury benches, while not allowing the INDIA bloc’s MPs to speak in the Upper House.
Rajya Sabha Congress MP Syed Naseer Hussain told ThePrint that 60 lawmakers submitted a notice for a motion to Rajya Sabha secretary general P. C. Mody Tuesday morning to remove Dhankhar under Article 67(B) of the Constitution. The lawmakers are from the Congress, the Trinamool Congress (TMC), the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), the Samajwadi Party (SP), the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), the Communist Party of India (CPI) and CPI (Marxist).
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.”
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.
‘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 Tiruch 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
