New Delhi:

The no-confidence motion moved by the Opposition against Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar has been rejected by the deputy chairman on Thursday on the grounds that a 14-day notice was not given and Mr Dhankhar’s name was not spelt correctly.

Deputy Chairman Harivansh noted that the motion was brought to create a narrative against the person holding the second-highest constitutional post in the country, sources said. He pointed out that a joint press conference was also held to create a narrative against the Vice President, they added.

Laying out the reasons for the rejection, Mr Harivansh said a 14-day notice, which is mandatory to move such a motion, was not given. Mr Dhankhar’s name, he said, was also not spelt correctly. One protocol that was followed correctly, however, was getting the motion signed by 60 MPs when it was moved last week. 

This is the first time in the history of the Rajya Sabha that a motion to remove the Chairman was moved. The INDIA bloc has alleged that Mr Dhankhar has been functioning in a partisan manner and this was exacerbated during this winter session of Parliament, which has seen repeated face-offs between the Opposition and the ruling party.

The Congress was left fuming after BJP MPs were allowed to record speeches about alleged links between Sonia Gandhi and billionaire George Soros by Mr Dhankhar, who had rejected earlier notices to discuss the issue. The no-trust motion was moved soon after this.

The motion, submitted under Article 67(B) of the Constitution, was also backed by the Samajwadi Party, the Trinamool Congress and the AAP, which have disagreed with the Congress several times during this parliamentary session. 

The 14-day rule is mentioned in the Article, which states, a “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; but no resolution for the purpose of this clause shall be moved unless at least fourteen days’ notice has been given of the intention to move the resolution.”

Opposition parties, some of which had already said that they knew they did not have the numbers to get the no-confidence motion passed and it was largely a symbolic move to register their protest against Mr Dhankhar and get him to correct his alleged partisan approach, will now have to decide whether they want to introduce a similar motion during the next session of Parliament. The current session will end on Friday.

‘Pained’

After the motion was moved, Mr Dhankhar had said he was “personally pained” that the Congress was running a “campaign” against him and asserted that, as the son of a farmer, he would not show weakness.

“I am personally pained that the main opposition party has been running a blitz, a campaign against the Chairman. They have the constitutional right to move a motion against me, but they are deviating from the constitutional provisions. Day in and day out, a campaign is going on against the Chairman. I have studied what is happening in the public domain,” he had said last week.

“Why can’t we follow the Constitution? You gave a notice, which we received, and you asked in your press conference what happened to the notice? Giving an impression that the Chairman is sitting on the notice… Read the law, your motion will come up after 14 days,” he added.

New Delhi:

Reacting to a recent remark by Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi that the Opposition has taken it upon themselves to “do the task of the judiciary,” former Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud said that the judiciary is here to “scrutinise laws” and people should not presume that it will fulfil the role of opposition in Parliament or the state legislatures.

In an exclusive interview with ANI, former chief justice Chandrachud noted that there is separate space in a democracy for the political opposition.

“Well, I don’t want to join issue with the leader of the Opposition because that’s not the ambit of what we are here to speak. But what I want to say is this, people should not presume that the judiciary should be performing the role of the opposition in Parliament or the State legislatures. Too often, there’s a misconception that the judiciary has to play the role of the Opposition in legislatures, which is not so. We are here to scrutinise laws” he said.

“We are entrusted with the duty to scrutinise executive action on whether it is consistent with the law, and whether it is consistent with the Constitution. There’s a different space in a democracy for the political opposition. And what people try to do is to use the judiciary and to shoot from the shoulders of the judiciary and to try and convert the Court into a space for the political opposition,” former chief justice Chandrachud said.

Rahul Gandhi had earlier said, “We are alone working on the behalf of media, investigative agencies and judiciary also. This is the reality of India.”

When asked about intense scrutiny on social media on the duration of interactions with the Leader of the Opposition and the Prime Minister, the former chief justice said as “human beings,” it is but natural to socialise during certain official meetings.

“Well, there are times when you interact with the leader of the Opposition as well. For instance, you know, in many of our statutes require that a selection committee for appointment to a particular post must consist of the Prime Minister, the Chief Justice of India, and the Leader of the Opposition. Now, you know, you discuss what you have to discuss, and you arrive at your conclusions. And after you’re done with those conclusions, you are human beings, right? You’re going to spend 10 minutes after that having a cup of tea, talking about everything under the sun from cricket to movies to something,” the former Chief Justice said.

Responding to the controversy that erupted after Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended a Ganpati Puja at his residence, he said, that this was not “unique,” and that earlier too Prime Ministers had visited the homes of judges on social occasions.

“Look at the work which we have done. I think assess us in terms of the work which we have done. I think something which is, you know, a social visit, a sociable visit, and this is not unique. I’ve said this before, prime ministers visit people in the homes of judges on social occasions, sometimes on sad occasions as well. This is the element of elementary social courtesy which is followed within the system. And, you know, these social courtesies do not detract from the fact that despite these social curtsies which are observed at different levels of the government, in the work which we do, we are entirely independent of each other,” the former chief justice said.

In September, a row erupted after PM Modi visited the residence of the then Chief Justice of India for Ganpati Puja celebrations. The opposition, especially Congress and Trinamool Congress (TMC), criticised the visit, arguing that such meetings could raise questions on potential conflicts of interest.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Mumbai:

The Opposition in Maharashtra on Tuesday said the 35-day period during which the Assembly elections process will take place is shorter than usual while the Election Commission gave enough time to the government to announce a slew of schemes.

It also pointed out that elections to the 288-member Maharashtra assembly, the second largest after Uttar Pradesh (403), will be held in a single phase on November 20, even though this year’s Lok Sabha elections were held in five phases in the state.

Counting of votes will take place on November 23, the Election Commission announced earlier on Tuesday.

Leader of Opposition in the outgoing assembly and Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar said, “The Election Commission of India (ECI) generally gives a minimum of 40 days for the political parties to finalise their candidates, for submission of nominations, and the campaign. But this time it is 35 days, which is unusual and which gives us less time to campaign as well.

“It could be a part of some plan to give the Opposition little time,” he claimed, adding that the Shiv Sena-BJP-NCP government has rampantly announced schemes in the run-up to the elections without any application of mind and it will hit the state coffers.

Asked about the fate of these schemes if the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance came to power, Mr Wadettiwar said, “We note that some schemes will strain the state’s finances, but we will not scrap all of them. We will evaluate and continue the schemes that genuinely aim to help the people. Additionally, our administration will prioritise improving the safety of women in public spaces.”

Jayant Patil, state president of the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar), said, “The ECI held Lok Sabha elections in five stages in Maharashtra, but it has now decided to hold elections for the assembly in one stage. It is good that the NDA government in Maharashtra will lose in one stroke.”

The announcement of the Assembly elections should have been made earlier, he said, but the state government was given enough time to announce welfare schemes and sanction development works.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said, “Compared to the Lok Sabha, the performance of the MVA which is part of the INDIA bloc will be better. There is no need to worry about the seat-sharing formula.” He also claimed that the questions raised by several Opposition parties over the possible misuse of EVMs were not properly addressed by the EC officials.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

The turbulent relationship between Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar and INDIA bloc parties came to a head on Friday with sources saying that the opposition is considering submitting a notice for moving a resolution to remove the vice-president from his office.

They said the timing of the notice is to be discussed and decided and though the resolution may not go through, it would be a statement to highlight the Chair’s “blatantly and consistently partisan” approach.

According to Article 67(b) of the Constitution, “Vice-President may be removed from his office by a resolution of the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) passed by a majority of all the then members of the Council and agreed to by the House of the People; but no resolution for the purpose of this clause shall be moved unless at least fourteen days’ notice has been given of the intention to move the resolution.”

Opposition sources said 87 members have signed on the proposal to initiate action against Mr Dhankhar.

A source said around two days ago, Leader of the House JP Nadda was informally informed that the Opposition is considering submitting a motion for removing Mr Dhankhar.

The source said concerns of opposition parties include the microphone of the Leader of Opposition being turned off repeatedly. The opposition wants the House to be run by rules and convention and personal remarks against members are unacceptable, the source said.

Mr Dhankhar and INDIA bloc parties sparred on Friday once again with the Congress accusing the Chair of acting in a “partisan” manner against the entire opposition.

Soon after the opposition walked out of Rajya Sabha protesting against what they termed as “unacceptable” tone and disrespect shown by Mr Dhankhar, the Congress held a press conference to claim that the Chair was not giving the opposition the importance it deserves in the Upper House.

“Opposition parties feel that the Chairman’s approach is partisan. Rajya Sabha is a House that sets parameters for other legislatures. In that House, the Chairman should not be seen as partisan. The Congress is not alone in feeling that way, all opposition parties feel his behaviour is partial towards one side,” Congress leader Ajay Maken said at the press conference.

The opposition is not getting the importance it deserves in the Upper House, he said.

“If the opposition’s voice does not resonate in Rajya Sabha, where else will it resonate,” he asked.

Congress’s deputy leader in Rajya Sabha Pramod Tiwari claimed that Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge is not allowed to speak, he is frequently interrupted and his microphones are often shut.

“It is not about one party. Two-three days ago, Ghanshyam Tiwari used such words for the Leader of Opposition which were not right and were insulting and unacceptable. We had given notice for a privilege motion. We wanted to know the ruling on it, the ruling has not come, it has to be in writing,” he said.

Responding to a question, Mr Maken said, “All options are open, whatever is legal and in the rule book, whatever is in the Constitution, within the procedure of conduct, whatever provisions are there in the law, all options are open for us, we cannot remain mute spectators while democracy is being murdered.”

Earlier, the opposition walked out of the House, with Congress parliamentary party Sonia Gandhi and other senior leaders in tow.

The walkout came after Samajwadi Party MP Jaya Bachchan and Dhankhar were engaged in a heated exchange in the Upper House.

“Main kalakar hoon, body language samajhti hoon, expression samajhti hoon… par sir, mujhe maaf kariyega magar apka tone jo hai is not acceptable (I am an artiste, I understand body language and expressions. Forgive me but your tone is not acceptable). We are colleagues sir, you may be sitting on the chair,” she said.

Mr Dhankhar hit back, saying, “Jaya ji, you’ve earned a great reputation. You know, an actor is subject to director. You’ve not seen what I see from here. I don’t want schooling. I am a person who has gone out of the way, and you say my tone… enough of it.”

Mr Nadda also hit out at the opposition and demanded they should apologise to Mr Dhankhar.

After the walkout, Ms Bachchan, flanked by Sonia Gandhi and other opposition leaders, told reporters that she objected to the tone used by the Chair.

“We are not schoolchildren. I was upset with the tone and especially when the LoP stood up to speak, his mic was switched off. How can you do this? If he is not going to be heard in the House, then what are we doing? On top of that, every time (they are) using words which are unparliamentary,” she said. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Today’s election for the post of the Lok Sabha Speaker, already tilted in the government’s favour, can push the Opposition further down, with five of its 232 MPs yet to take oath. The oath pending, they cannot vote in the election, sources have told NDTV.

The list includes stalwarts like Congress’s Shashi Tharoor and Trinamool Congress’s actor-politician Shatrughan Sinha.

There are also a few others — Deepak Adhikari and Nurul Islam of Trinamool Congress and Afzhal Ansari of the Samajwadi Party and two Independents. It is not yet known why the oath of some of these leaders is pending.

Afzhal Ansari is the elder brother of criminal-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari. Sentenced to four years in prison, his jail term was put on hold by the Allahabad High Court in view of the election.

The case will be heard when the court opens in July. If the court upholds his sentence, he will lose his membership of parliament.

Victory in Speaker election is based on the number of MPs present and voting – which means the absence of these seven MPs will bring down the total number and therefore the halfway mark.

While the Opposition won 232 seats, it will miss five MPs in its ranks, bringing it down to 227 – assuming the rest turn up and vote. The majority mark will stand at 269.

The NDA, already with 293 MPs, is also expected to have the support of the four MPs of YS Jaganmohan Reddy’s YSR Congress, which, like Naveen Patnaik’s Biju Janata Dal, had lent issue-based support to the government.

Now, routed in the Odisha assembly election, the BJD has said it will not provide any support to the BJP. But the YSR Congress, though trounced by BJP ally Chandrababu Naidu’s Telugu Desam Party, is sticking to its stance.

For the BJP, which already has enough MPs in its corner to ensure a victory of Om Birla — who is contesting against Opposition candidate K Suresh for a second stint at the job — the question is one of optics.

The BJP is also working to bring Harsimrat Kaur Badal of the Akali Dal, Nagina MP Chandrashekhar Azad, and Shillong MP Ricky Andrew Syngkon on board. With their support, the party aims to surpass the psychologically significant threshold of 300 seats.

The party, unlike in 2014 and 2019, has been unable to achieve majority on its own and is dependent on Mr Naidu’s TDP and Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal United to keep its head above the halfway mark. A decisive victory in the Lok Sabha is expected to boost morale in the party camp.

Starting off the first Parliament session in his third term on the front foot, the Prime Minister launched an ‘Emergency’ attack towards the main Opposition Congress before the Lok Sabha met this morning.

Addressing the media before the House met, the Prime Minister said this June 25 — tomorrow — will mark the 50th anniversary of the Emergency and called it a “black spot” on the country’s democracy.

This Parliament sessions comes after the general elections and the Opposition is buoyed by its good show that restricted the BJP below the majority mark. The Prime Minister has returned to the top post with the support of NDA allies and the Opposition plans to use its numerical strength to corner the government on the House floor.

The tone of the Prime Minister’s address, however, the BJP may have suffered a setback, but it has no plan to let the Opposition have its way.

The Prime Minister assured the people that the government will work three times harder in its third term and deliver three-fold results.

This election, he said, was significant because this is only the second government after Independence that has been chosen to continue for a third term in a row. “This opportunity has come after 60 years. When people have chosen a government for the third term, it means a stamp on its intent, a stamp on its policies and its dedication. I thank the people for this,” he told the media.

Referring to the Emergency imposed by the then Indira Gandhi government, he said, “Tomorrow marks 50 years of the black spot on Indian democracy. The new generation will not forget how the Indian Constitution was scrapped, how the country was turned into a jail and democracy was captured. In this 50th anniversary, the country will take a pledge that never again will it happen.”

The Prime Minister said the government will consistently try to take everyone along to serve the country and its people, but added a stern message for the Opposition. “India needs a responsible Opposition, people want substance not slogans, they want debate, diligence not drama and disturbance in Parliament. I hope the Opposition will live up to the people’s expectations,” he said.

The country, he said, has a lot of expectations from MPs and urged them to take every possible step for public welfare. The Prime Minister congratulated the newly elected MPs and noted that this is the first time new MPs will take the oath in the new Parliament building.

The Prime Minister’s remarks and swipes targeting the Congress drew a sharp response. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the country was expecting that the Prime Ministr would speak about the protests surrounding NEET, the train accident in West Bengal or the continuing violence in Manipur.

“You are warning the Opposition. You are talking about the 50-year-old Emergency, but have forgotten the undeclared Emergency in the last 10 years,” Mr Kharge said, adding that the people have “given a mandate against Modiji”. The Congress chief said the INDIA Opposition bloc will raise the people’s voice inside and outside the Parliament.

The Opposition Bloc INDIA can have its 3rd assembly in Mumbai on August 31 and September 1, the Uddhav Thackeray faction of Shiv Sena (UBT) has introduced. The celebration will host the meet, the place the united Opposition is anticipated to draft its Habitual Minimal Programme.

There may be expectation that an 11-member coordination committee can be named, “At that meeting in Mumbai, we will decide on who the 11 will be, who the Convenor will be, etc. These are small things,” Congress’s Mallikarjun Kharge had mentioned.

The meet comes days upcoming the Opposition’s Deny-Self assurance Movement in opposition to the Narendra Modi govt — and the plan to compel him to talk on Manipur — collapsed. The High Minister in short discussed Manipur most effective upcoming a walkout by means of the Opposition, carried out upcoming 90 mins of his pronunciation.

With that background, the Opposition turns out to have its paintings trim out, understanding a fail-safe roadmap for the then spherical of meeting elections and the overall election then occasion.

The query of Opposition cohesion, too, must be settled in view of a few feedback by means of leaders of Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Birthday party, whose fragile vacay with the Congress seems to be ceaselessly underneath ultimatum.

The Shiv Sena UBT, which issued the ask over, posted a teaser video on X, previously Twitter, drawing on optic from the sooner conferences of the fresh bloc, which introduced its title in Bengaluru extreme future.

“Those who want to bring dictatorship in the country, We will be against them!” reads a coarse translation of the caption.

जे देशात हुकूमशाही आणू पाहतात,
त्यांच्या विरोधात आम्ही असणार!#INDIA#जितेगाइंडिया#JeetegaINDIApic.twitter.com/6bxM3mXdtz

— ShivSena – शिवसेना Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray (@ShivSenaUBT_) August 28, 2023

Congress’s Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, ministers MK Stalin, Nitish Kumar, Arvind Kejriwal, Hemant Soren, Mamata Banerjee and RJD Lalu Prasad had been amongst those that took section within the two-day meet. Sharad Pawar, whose celebration underwent a break in June with the insurrection of nephew Ajit Pawar, additionally joined in.

Pronouncing the fresh title for the Opposition Bloc in Bengaluru, Rahul Gandhi had mentioned: “The fight is between NDA and INDIA, Narendra Modi and INDIA, his ideology and INDIA… The fight is about two different ideas of India… The fight is for the voice of the country.”

Calling the bloc “old wine in new bottle”, the BJP had pitched “Bharat” in opposition to “INDIA”.

“Today people are seeing who all are a part of NDA. They work for the shoshit and vanchit, adivasis and peechhdas (exploited and deprived, tribals and backward communities)… It is dedicated to the people of the country,” PM Modi had mentioned.

“Its motto is Nation First, Progress First, Empowerment of the People First… NDA is doing social justice as envisioned by Gandhi and Ambedkar,” he had added.