Opposition's No Trust Move Against Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar Rejected

The no-confidence motion moved by the Opposition against Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar has been rejected by the deputy chairman on Thursday on the grounds that a 14-day notice was not given and Mr Dhankhar's name was not spelt correctly.

Deputy Chairman Harivansh noted that the motion was brought to create a narrative against the person holding the second-highest constitutional post in the country, sources said. He pointed out that a joint press conference was also held to create a narrative against the Vice President, they added.

Laying out the reasons for the rejection, Mr Harivansh said a 14-day notice, which is mandatory to move such a motion, was not given. Mr Dhankhar's name, he said, was also not spelt correctly. One protocol that was followed correctly, however, was getting the motion signed by 60 MPs when it was moved last week. 

This is the first time in the history of the Rajya Sabha that a motion to remove the Chairman was moved. The INDIA bloc has alleged that Mr Dhankhar has been functioning in a partisan manner and this was exacerbated during this winter session of Parliament, which has seen repeated face-offs between the Opposition and the ruling party.

The Congress was left fuming after BJP MPs were allowed to record speeches about alleged links between Sonia Gandhi and billionaire George Soros by Mr Dhankhar, who had rejected earlier notices to discuss the issue. The no-trust motion was moved soon after this.

The motion, submitted under Article 67(B) of the Constitution, was also backed by the Samajwadi Party, the Trinamool Congress and the AAP, which have disagreed with the Congress several times during this parliamentary session. 

The 14-day rule is mentioned in the Article, which states, a "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."

Opposition parties, some of which had already said that they knew they did not have the numbers to get the no-confidence motion passed and it was largely a symbolic move to register their protest against Mr Dhankhar and get him to correct his alleged partisan approach, will now have to decide whether they want to introduce a similar motion during the next session of Parliament. The current session will end on Friday.

'Pained'

After the motion was moved, Mr Dhankhar had said he was "personally pained" that the Congress was running a "campaign" against him and asserted that, as the son of a farmer, he would not show weakness.

"I am personally pained that the main opposition party has been running a blitz, a campaign against the Chairman. They have the constitutional right to move a motion against me, but they are deviating from the constitutional provisions. Day in and day out, a campaign is going on against the Chairman. I have studied what is happening in the public domain," he had said last week.

"Why can't we follow the Constitution? You gave a notice, which we received, and you asked in your press conference what happened to the notice? Giving an impression that the Chairman is sitting on the notice... Read the law, your motion will come up after 14 days," he added.