People in constitutional positions cannot settle scores: Jagdeep Dhankhar

NEW DELHI: People holding constitutional posts have to be “vindicated by commitment to sublimity, sterling qualities, and constitutionalism” and are “not in the position to settle scores”, vice president Jagdeep Dhankhar said on Tuesday.

The statement came in the backdrop of the Opposition moving a notice on December 10 for a motion of no-confidence against the vice president, who is also the chairman of the Rajya Sabha, during the recent winter session of Parliament. The notice was rejected by the deputy chairman of the Upper House, Harivansh, on several grounds, including technical flaws on December 19. Harivansh described the move as “casual” and “cavalier”, and noted that it even misspelt Dhankhar’s name.

In an interaction with women journalists organised by Women Journalist Welfare Trust on Tuesday, Dhankhar made a reference to the notice and said that anyone who would have read the contents would not have slept for days.

“I don’t hold any brief for myself, but look at the notice against the VP, look at the six links they have given, you will be shocked. Chandra Shekhar ji used to say don’t use a kitchen knife to conduct a bypass surgery... in my case, the person who wrote the notice used a rusted knife...I was stunned after reading it. But I am surprised that none of you have read it,” he said, Asserting that those in constitutional positions cannot “settle scores”, Dhankhar said, adding that his rulings in the Upper House are borne out by constitutional provisions.

He also cautioned against orchestrated efforts to harm national interests, and said, “Quite often I have seen for myself, these are fuelled in an orchestrated manner by forces that are determined to be inimical to the interest of this country. Their objective is to destroy, brick by brick, our constitutional institutions, slur the presidency, and mind you, who is the President? The first tribal woman to become President of this country...”

In a broadside against the Opposition, he made a reference to how parties criticised his ruling in April 2023 on the issue of whether a member in the Upper House can raise an issue pertaining to a member in the Lower House. He cited the example of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) minister Piyush Goyal seeking an apology from Rahul Gandhi, a Lok Sabha MP, for his speech during his visit to the United States. While the Congress objected to the mention, Dhankhar ruled at the time that the law did not bar raising the issue.

“An issue came about Rahul Gandhi, he was not the LoP then, in the Rajya Sabha. Leader of the House, Piyush Goyal raised an issue... I decided [on it] ...I will be happy to be guided if there is anything wrong, but they (the Opposition) couldn’t digest how could the chairperson so decide... I know the UPA chairperson (Sonia Gandhi) is a noble lady, but she dragged in the constitutional position... I was called upon to decide…I decided,” he said.

In his ruling on April 5, 2023, Dhankhar said, “After bestowing earnest consideration on this momentous aspect I am of the firm view that there can be no issue or individual beyond the purview of discussion in the Rajya Sabha and the same is exclusively subject to regulation by the House and the Chairman. The two precedents relied upon by the Leader of Opposition have no bearing on the issue being determined herein.”

The Opposition, in its notice for the removal of the Chairman, cited at least six newspaper reports to buttress their allegation that he was “biased”, including his statement criticising Sonia Gandhi for her comment that the government was trying to “delegitimise the judiciary”. In December 2022, the vice president said this comment was “severely inappropriate” and showed “lack of faith in democracy”.

Expressing concern over the quality of debates in Parliament, Dhankhar said: “Have you noticed any great debate in Parliament in the last few decades? Have you noticed any great contribution made on the floor of the House? We are in the news for the wrong reason. We have learned to live with order, which is only disorder.”