In protest: MPs from Opposition parties after staging a walkout during the Parliament session on August 9, 2024.
| Photo Credit: PTI
As many as 50 Opposition MPs, sources said, have signed a resolution to bring a no-confidence motion against Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar under Article 67(B) of the Indian Constitution, which states that the Vice-President can be removed by a resolution of the Rajya Sabha passed by an effective majority and agreed upon by the Lok Sabha with a simple majority.
The Oppositionโs decision comes at a time of a deteriorating relationship with Rajya Sabha Chairman Mr. Dhankhar, marked by frequent run-ins. The Oppositionโs resolution is based on three points. The MPs say there is a marked lack of space and time for the Opposition to express its views. The Opposition argues that parliamentary convention dictates that the Leader of Opposition is conceded the floor, if he gets up to speak. Their complaint is that Congress president and the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Khargeโs microphone is routinely turned off.
The second point that the Opposition has raised is that the House should be run by โrules and conventionโ and the floor of the House is โsupremeโ to any other area in Parliament. โEvery time we complain, we are told to see the Chairman in his chamber. The problems generated on the floor of the House should be sorted there,โ a senior Opposition leader said.
The third accusation that the Opposition has made against the Chairman is on โpersonal remarks against members.โ โRule 238(2) of the Rajya Sabha clearly states that a member while speaking shall not make a personal charge against a member. This is a rule that the Chairman must also abide by,โ another Opposition member pointed out.
If the Opposition moves such a resolution, it will be the first such occasion in Indian parliamentary history.
Article 67(B) under which the Opposition is planning to move the resolution states, โA 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.โ It explicitly says that for moving this resolution โat least fourteen days noticeโ has to be given. Sources said that the move was being talked about for over a week but the confrontation in the House over the last few days was the last straw.
With both Houses of Parliament adjourned sine die, Opposition leaders said that they would keep the issue alive and would make the move in the next session. They conceded that they may not have the numbers to make the final push. In the Rajya Sabha, the Opposition, barring the YSR Congress, the Bharat Rashtra Samithi and the Biju Janata Dal, the INDIA bloc has 87 members. The resolution also has to pass in Lok Sabha. โThis is not about arithmetic. It is about relaying our sentiments and putting it on record,โ an Opposition leader said.
