In an unprecedented move in the parliamentary history of India, the opposition INDIA bloc submitted a notice on December 10 at the Rajya Sabha Secretary General P.C. Modi’s office sought removal of the Chairperson of the Upper House, the Vice-President of India Jagdeep Dhankhar, alleging him of conducting proceedings of the House in an “extremely biased” manner.
Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Kiren Rijiju on December 11, during his address in the House, said, “We will not allow this.” Amidst uproar in the House during Centre-Opposition faceoff, Rajya Sabha was adjourned for the day. Given the adamant attitudes of both the ruling establishment and the opposition, one can’t but think that the issue may overshoot to a hazardous level having far reaching legal and political implications for the country. Since the NDA has a majority in the Rajya Sabha, it can defeat the impeachment motion, if taken in the House for consideration, but the debate can impact politics in the country in a way that can impact the political fortune of the ruling establishment.
The immediate background of the joint move of the opposition INDIA bloc has enough indication of that. The opposition has been demanding discussion on the Adani issue alleging that the Union Government is protecting the friend of PM Narendra Modi at the cost of public money and the interest of the people.
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The Opposition’s six-point chargesheet notice was signed by not only the Congress but other opposition political parties too. Therefore, Kiren Rijiju’s attack on only Congress over the impeachment notice, calling the allegations against the Chair baseless is not enough. Whatever may be the outcome of the impeachment notice, most likely to be defeated on account of the majority of NDA in the House, if taken for consideration. Kiren Rijiju’s statements suggest that it would not be taken for consideration at all, and in that case when the winter session of the Parliament will end on December 20, the notice for removal would expire automatically.
Nevertheless, it will have serious implications on National politics, since the move would exert great pressure on the Vice-President who holds a significant role in the national political hierarchy, being only second in line to the presidency, and as Chairman of the Rajya Sabha. There six-point chargesheet puts the narrative straightforward: Leaving aside Mr Dhankhar’s constant interruptions whenever opposition MPs attempt to speak, the Chairperson had also repeatedly denied legitimate requests made by the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge to “intervene and rebut falsehoods propagated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and the Leader of the House and BJP President J P Nadda.
A serious charge against Dhankhar is that he had taken it upon himself to be an “impassioned spokesperson” of the Union government’s policies while criticising the opposition MPs’ viewpoints if “contrary of oppose the position of the ruling government.” The Executive’s influence through Vice-President over the legislative process in the Rajya Sabha has come under question, especially when Vice-President aligned himself with the ruling RSS family.
India can’t compromise with the neutrality of legislative processes and the chairman of the House. Procedural change in such cases is imperative.
