On December 10, the opposition INDIA bloc moved a notice to remove Vice-President and Rajya Sabha chair Jagdeep Dhankhar from office. The notice said that Dhankhar had been unfair and partisan in his conduct, and has not acted in accordance with the demands of his constitutional position.
The following is the full text of the notice. Note that its style differs from The Wire‘s house style. ‘Dhankhar’ is also spelled differently here.
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We, the undersigned members of the Council of States (Rajya Sabha), are constrained to move the present notice against the Hon’ble Vice President and Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha, Shri Jagdeep Dhankar.
The undersigned members condemn the partisan conduct of Shri Jagdeep Dhankar, which is unbecoming of High Level Constitutional Authorities that are expected to act in accordance with and in furtherance of the principles enshrined in the Constitution of India.
Under Article 67 of the Constitution of India, a motion for the removal of the Vice President from his office requires a 14 day prior notice of intent on part of members of the Council of States that are in support of the said resolution.
The present resolution should be regarded as the notice for the purposes of Article 67 of the Constitution.
Shri Jagdeep Dhankar has been serving as the Vice President of India and Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha from 11.08.2022.
Unfortunately, his brief term has been rife with instances where Shri Jagdeep Dhankar has acted in a manner that is explicitly partisan and unfair towards members belonging to the Opposition. Since assuming office, Shri Jagdeep Dhankar has repeatedly
made disparaging comments about Members of the House belonging to Opposition Parties publically, criticizing any and every action taken by them where the Leaders have expressed issues with the functioning of the ruling Government.
As Chairperson, the manner in which the Shri Jagdeep Dhankar conducts parliamentary affairs of the Rajya Sabha is extremely partisan. It is a matter of record that Shri Jagdeep Dhankar has repeatedly interrupted members of the Opposition while they are speaking, unfairly used privilege motions to silence leaders of the opposition, and openly delegitimized dissent with respect to the
actions of the Government in the utmost disparaging manner. A list of Articles/Videos covering various instances where Shri Jagdeep Dhankar has unjustly been critical of Opposition Members or their actions is provided herein below:
3. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/rajya-sabha-chairman-jagdeep-dhankhar-pulls-up-congress-
jairam-ramesh-says-he-doesnt-deserve-to-be-in-rs/articleshow/107583641.cms?from=mdr
In fact, on 02.07.2024, Shri Jagdeep Dhankar, while he presided as Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha, labeled himself as the “Eklavya of the RSS”; speaking about history with the organization and how after joining the organization he wishes that he had started his political career with the RSS itself.
Such remarks by Shri Jagdeep Dhankar are unbecoming of the non-partisan nature of the position he currently occupies.
Since assuming the Office of the Hon’ble Vice President in 2022, the Hon’ble Chairperson has conducted the proceedings of the Rajya Sabha in an extremely biased manner. Leaving aside his constant interruptions whenever Member of the Opposition attempts to speak, Shri Jagdeep Dhankar has also:-
- 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.
- Made unacceptable remarks against the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha thereby lowering the dignity of the House.
- Recalled his past associations with so-called cultural organizations in a manner unbecoming of the High Constitutional position that he occupies.
- Criticised statements made by Opposition leaders who are not members of the Rajya Sabha.
- Taken it upon himself to be an impassioned spokesperson of the Government’s policies in public forums across the country.
- Publically attacked Opposition MPs for viewpoints expressed by them that are contrary or oppose the position of the ruling government vis-à-vis a said issue.
The role of the Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha is of pivotal importance. As the Chairperson, Shri Jagdeep Dhankar is expected conduct himself in a non-partisan manner.
His conduct of the House on December 9, 2024 was particularly one-sided and totally unfair. He was, in fact, encouraging and provoking the Treasury Benches to make outrageous remarks.
However, Shri Jagdeep Dhankar has repeatedly acted a manner that reduces the prestige of the position he presently occupies to that of a mere spokesman for the Government of the day. Therefore, we are issuing the present notice to bring a no-confidence motion against the Vice President of of India in accordance with the provisions provided in the Constitution being.
