New Delhi: The Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, Janata Dal (United) MP Harivansh dismissed the no-confidence motion against Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, citing “procedural impropriety” and attempts to “malign the incumbent Vice President.” The ruling was issued following the opposition’s notice for a no-confidence motion against Dhankhar on December 10, purportedly signed by 60 MPs of the Rajya Sabha.
The deputy chairman stated that Article 67(b) of the Constitution mandates a minimum of 14 days’ notice before any resolution for the removal of the vice president can be considered. The December 10 notice meant that such a resolution could only be brought after Tuesday, December 24. However, the ongoing 266th session of the Rajya Sabha is scheduled to conclude on Friday, December 20, rendering the resolution temporally impossible. Harivansh added that the notice was inititated “only to set a narrative against 2nd Highest Constitutional office and the Vice President.”
The deputy chairman noted several “flaws” in the notice, including:
- The absence of a specific addressee.
- Incorrect spelling of the vice president’s name.
- Lack of a resolution text.
- Reliance on “unauthenticated” media reports and documents.
The notice, he remarked, appeared “casual and cavalier, wanting on every conceivable aspect,” casting doubts on its bona fides. “Worrisomely for the prestige of Parliament and its members, the notice is replete with assertions only to malign the incumbent Vice President asserting events from the time he assumed office in August 2022.”
Harivansh added that “subsequent events unfolding revealed it being a calculated unwholesome attempt to garnish publicity; run down the constitutional institution; insinuate the the personal image of the incumbent Vice President.” He cited a similar removal notice in September 2020 which was rejected by then-Chairman Venkaiah Naidu for procedural lapses under a provision similar to Article 67(b).
The ruling pointed to “orchestration of a coordinated media campaign” by the Congress and highlighted press conferences and social media posts by opposition leaders, including the Leader of Opposition (LoP), which Harivansh described as attempts to create a misleading narrative. “The gravity of this personally targeted notice bereft of facts and aimed at securing publicity makes its expose expedient, being misadventure in deliberate trivialising and demeaning of the high constitutional office of Vice President of the largest democracy,” it added.
Harivansh concluded, “In view of the above the notice is held as an act of impropriety, severely flawed, apparently drawn in haste and hurry to marred reputation of the incumbent Vice President and aimed to damage the constitutional institution. The same deserves to be and is hereby dismissed.”
A detailed order explaining the ruling will be issued subsequently.