The Winter Session of Parliament has witnessed a series of curious events with some having precedents but not the others. Most notable among them was the notice to remove Jagdeep Dhankhar as vice-president and Chairman of the Rajya Sabha but no less surprising were the Treasury benches disrupting proceedings even as the Opposition insisted it wanted the Houses to function at all costs.
It is the first time in the history of the Rajya Sabha that a mandatory 14-day notice has been given for the removal of its chairman. Article 67 (b) of the Constitution says a vice-president may be removed from office by passing a resolution in the Rajya Sabha which is agreed to by the Lok Sabha. The notice precedes the resolution seeking his removal.
India is an electoral democracy where people are elected to their legislative posts through polls with the backing of political parties. The practice for the elected representatives so far, however, has been to present themselves as representatives of the entire electorate. It is from this position that they derive their moral authority to act in the name of all people. Those holding portfolios of executive power such as ministers have often been accused of acting in a partisan manner, but the Presidents and Vice-Presidents have been honourable exceptions.
Mr Dhankhar, however, has proved to be an exception among exceptions in terms of his functioning as chairman of the Rajya Sabha in the last two years. His interventions in the House appear to be prompted by the thought that the Opposition members are uninvited guests there; even senior leaders do not get the respect they are due. Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge is spot on when he says the chairman acts as the spokesperson of the government when he is supposed to be the custodian of the rights of all the members.
Given that the NDA has a majority both in the Council of States as well as in the House of the People, and that the alliance has already voiced its support for him, Mr Dhankhar faces no immediate threat of losing his chair. It is up to him to contemplate if he has been true to his constitutional responsibility, or whether he should press ahead with the thought that his performance will form part of the resume that he prepares for his next position.
After the disruptive interventions of the Opposition washed out the first week of the Winter Session, it is now the turn of the Treasury benches to ensure that no meaningful discussion happens in the Houses. The behaviour of the ruling party members borders on strangeness when they raise media reports pointing to what they feel are questionable links Opposition leaders have with questionable people. Why they would stall the Houses instead of putting the Opposition leaders in the dock by allowing them to function remains a mystery.
It has now dawned on the Opposition that they are the biggest losers in the game of disruption and it wants the Houses to function. It should at least now realise that the people have sent its members here to hold the government to account for its sins of commission and omission. Democracy becomes a winning proposition when all the players recognise their roles and act responsibly.
