'Severely flawed, drawn in haste': RS deputy chairman Harivansh dismisses Opposition notice seeking removal of VP Dhankhar

New Delhi: The I.N.D.I.A. bloc's notice to move a resolution to remove Jagdeep Dhankhar as Vice President was rejected by Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh on Thursday citing it as an "act of impropriety", "severely flawed", "drawn in haste" to mar his reputation and to "damage Constitutional institution".

Dismissing the December 10 notice submitted by 60 MPs, Deputy Chairman Harivansh said the gravity of "this personally targeted notice bereft of facts and aimed at securing publicity" made its "expose expedient, being misadventure in deliberate trivialising and demeaning" the high constitutional office of Vice President.

The I.N.D.I.A. parties had submitted a notice to move a resolution seeking removal of Dhankhar for his “extremely partisan” conduct as Rajya Sabha Chairman and “repeatedly acting” in a manner that “reduces” his position to that of a “mere spokesman” of the government. This was the first such notice in the country's Parliamentary history against a Vice President.

"The notice is held as an act of impropriety, severely flawed, apparently drawn in haste and hurry to marred the reputation of the incumbent Vice President and aimed to damage the constitutional institution. The same deserves to be and is hereby dismissed," Harivansh's ruling, which was tabled in Rajya Sabha, said.

Harivansh cited the ruling of then Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu on a notice of no-confidence motion against himself in October 2021 to reject the Opposition demand for discussing their resolution of Dhankhar and said it was known to signatories that the resolution cannot be brought during this session and this was initiated "only to set a narrative" against Dhankhar.

He went on to say, "A look at the notice reveals it couldn’t be more casual and cavalier, wanting on every conceivable aspect and severally flawed -- absence of addressee, absence of resolution text, incumbent Vice President's name not correctly spelt in the entire petition, documents and videos asserted not made part, premised on links of disjointed media reports without authentication and many more."

Insisting that the notice was replete with assertions only to malign the Vice President by asserting events from the time he assumed office in August 2022, Harivansh said the notice's lack of bona fides, and subsequent events unfolding revealed it being a "calculated unwholesome attempt to garnish publicity" and "insinuate the the personal image" of the Vice-President, "notably, the first from the agricultural community to hold this office".

He alleged the prejudicial intent manifested through orchestration of a coordinated media campaign, including a televised press conference initiated by the Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge and Congress Chief Whip Jairam Ramesh. He also said that an impression was created that the Chairman was sitting on the notice.

The ruling by Harivansh also mentioned Kharge's series of tweets against Dhankhar "forces a conclusion to be part of a design to denigrate" nation’s constitutional institutions and malign the incumbent Vice President.

The I.N.D.I.A. bloc's notice had claimed that Dhankhar had “acted in a manner that is explicitly partisan and unfair” towards the Opposition MPs. They also accused him of “repeatedly making disparaging remarks” about Opposition MPs and “criticising any and every action” against the government.

Taking exception to Dhankhar saying in Rajya Sabha in July this year that he is an “Ekalavya of RSS”, the MPs also said in the notice that such remarks were “unbecoming of the non-partisan nature” of the high Constitutional position he currently occupies.

The MPs have also claimed that Dhankhar had “denied legitimate requests” of Kharge to “intervene and rebut falsehoods” spread by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Leader of the House J P Nadda. They have also accused him of making “unacceptable” remarks against Kharge besides criticising Opposition leaders in Rajya Sabha who are not members of the House.