New DelhiThe Opposition parties on Tuesday submitted a notice to move a motion for removing vice-president Jagdeep Dhankhar for allegedly conducting the House in a partisan manner. Congress leaders Jairam Ramesh and Naseer Hussain submitted the notice to Rajya Sabha secretary general P.C. Mody.
The no-confidence motion against the vice-president marks a significant escalation in the friction between the Opposition parties and Mr Dhankhar, who has often been accused of favouring the ruling party during parliamentary proceedings.
Accusing Mr Dhankhar of being partisan, Mr Ramesh, who is the Congress general secretary, stated on X: "All parties belonging to the INDIA group have had no option but to formally submit a no-confidence motion... It has been a very painful decision... but in the interests of parliamentary democracy, they have had to take this step."
According to sources, about 60 Opposition MPs -- including those from the Congress, RJD, TMC, CPI, CPI-M, JMM, AAP, DMK -- have signed the notice. However, they said top Congress leaders who hold constitutional posts have not signed the notice.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress parliamentary party chairperson Sonia Gandhi and the floor leaders of various opposition parties are also not among the signatories, the sources added.
The Opposition parties have been upset with Mr Dhankhar over multiple issues, the latest being him allowing the members of the Treasury benches to raise the Congress-US billionaire George Soros "link" issue in the Upper House.
The INDIA bloc parties in August this year also had considered moving a no-confidence motion against Mr Dhankhar.
According to Article 67(b) of the Constitution, a vice-president of India can be removed by a resolution passed by a majority of all the members of the Rajya Sabha and agreed to by the Lok Sabha. A minimum of 50 MPs is required to initiate such a motion, along with a 14-day notice period before the resolution is tabled.
Condemning the no-confidence motion brought by the INDIA Bloc against Rajya Sabha Chairman, the Union Parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju on Tuesday accused the Opposition of disrespecting the dignity of the Chair of both the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha.
Addressing a press conference, Mr Rijiju said that the majority of the members of the Rajya Sabha have "full faith" in Mr Dhankhar.
"The Opposition disrespects the dignity of the Chair, be it in the Rajya Sabha or the Lok Sabha... The Congress party and their alliance continuously behaved wrongly by not following the direction of the Chair," he said, adding, "We oppose the submission of this notice. This can never be successful."
"This notice served by the members of the Congress party and some of its allies must be rejected and will be rejected and this type of action will not be accepted by the House," Mr Rijiju said.
The vice-president of India, as the ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, plays a pivotal role in ensuring impartiality and fairness in the Upper House's proceedings.
Rajya Sabha
Total: 245
NDA 118
INDIA 86
Others 27
NDA
Bharatiya Janata Party 95
Nominated 6
Janata Dal (United) 4
Nationalist Congress Party 3
Janata Dal (Secular) 1
Shiv Sena 1
Asom Gana Parishad 1
National Peoples Party 1
Pattali Makkal Katchi 1
Rashtriya Lok Dal 1
RPI (ATHAWALE) 1
Rashtriya Lok Morcha 1
TMC (Moopanar) 1
UNITED PEOPLES PARTY (LIBERAL) 1
OPPOSITION
Indian National Congress 27
All India Trinamool Congress 12
Aam Aadmi Party 10
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam 10
Rashtriya Janata Dal 5
CPM 4
Samajwadi Party 4
Kerala Congress (M) 1
MDMK 1
Jharkhand Mukti Morcha 3
Communist Party of India 2
Indian Union Muslim League 2
NCP-SHARADCHANDRA PAWAR 2
Shiv Sena-Uddhav 2
Mizo National Front 1
THIRD BLOCK
YSRC 8
Biju Janata Dal 7
Bharat Rashtra Samithi 4
AIADMK 4
Independent & Others 3
Bahujan Samaj Party 1
