"Pained, Campaign Against Me": Jagdeep Dhankhar Amid No-Trust Motion

Facing a no-trust motion, Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar on Friday 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. 

Speaking amid an uproar in the House, the Vice President said its functioning is necessary for the nation and society and made an appeal to Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge to speak to him in his chamber with an open mind.

"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. 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," Mr Dhankhar said. 

Emphasising his farmer roots, the Vice President said, "I am the son of a farmer, I will not show any weakness. I will die for the country. You will not introspect... for 24 hours a day, your only work is asking how the son of a farmer is occupying this post... The campaign is not against me, but the category to which I belong."

The Rajya Sabha Chairman then appealed to Mr Kharge and the Leader of the House JP Nadda to meet him in his chambers.

"Mr Kharge, come with an open mind, communicate with me in my chamber... We will work together, try to break the deadlock. We will try to meet the highest standards that are expected from this august House by the entire country. Let's meet in my chamber and find a way out, we will move forward," he said.

Rajya Sabha Adjourned

During his exchange with Mr Dhankhar, Congress President Kharge accused the Rajya Sabha Chairman of not respecting him. "When the Chairman does not respect me, how can I respect him?" he remarked. 

Responding to Mr Dhankhar's comment that he was a farmer's son, Mr Kharge pointed out that he came from humble roots too. 

"If you are a farmer's son, I am a farmer-labourer's son. You are insulting us and our party members." he said. 

Amid the chaos, the Rajya Sabha was adjourned and will meet again on Monday. 

The confidence motion against Mr Dhankhar is backed by at least 60 opposition MPs, including those from the Congress, Samajwadi Party, Trinamool Congress, and the AAP, which are all part of the INDIA bloc. Some members of the alliance, which does not have the numbers to get the motion passed, have said that it is a largely symbolic move to ensure that their opposition to Mr Dhankhar's "partisan approach" is heard.