For the first time in the history of India’s Parliament since its establishment in 1952, a notice has been submitted for the removal of the Vice President, who also serves as the Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha. This motion has been initiated by the INDIA bloc of opposition parties, alleging partisan behaviour by Sh. Jagdeep Dhankhar in his role as the Chairperson of the Upper House (Rajya Sabha). This event marks a significant moment in the functioning of India’s parliamentary democracy.
The removal of the Vice President is governed by Article 67(b) of the Indian Constitution. According to this provision, a resolution for removal must be passed by a majority of the total membership of the Rajya Sabha and must also be agreed to by the Lok Sabha. The procedure mandates that a notice of at least 14 days must be given before such a resolution is taken up. Additionally, the notice must be approved by the Deputy Chairman before it can be tabled for consideration.
The Rajya Sabha currently has 243 members. For the motion to pass, the opposition needs a simple majority in both the houses of parliament . However, the opposition bloc does not have the requisite numbers to achieve this majority in both houses of Parliament. Despite this numerical disadvantage, the opposition maintains that the motion is intended to send a strong message about the importance of preserving parliamentary democracy.
The notice for the removal of the Vice President was submitted to the Secretary-General of the Rajya Sabha. It was signed by 60 MPs from various opposition parties, including the Congress, Trinamool Congress (TMC), Samajwadi Party (SP), Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Communist Party of India (CPI), Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPM], Hindustani , Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) etc. Congress MPs Jairam Ramesh and Naseer Hussain were the ones who formally submitted the notice.
The opposition’s motion accuses Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar of:
- Displaying partisan conduct and unfair treatment of opposition members.
- Denying legitimate requests from the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha to respond to speeches made by the Prime Minister and the Leader of the House.
- Acting as a spokesperson for government policies in public forums, which is seen as inappropriate for a constitutional authority.
- Allowing the ruling party members to make baseless allegations against opposition leaders without adequate intervention.
These actions, according to the opposition, undermine the principles enshrined in the Indian Constitution.
The opposition parties have gathered extensive evidence, including videos, articles, and other documents, to substantiate their claims of partisan behavior. This evidence has been updated, and fresh signatures were collected before submitting the notice.
Earlier similar motions were introduced thrice for removal of the speaker of Lok Sabha:
- 1954: A motion was moved against GV Mavalankar by a Socialist Party MP but was ultimately negated.
- 1966: A motion against Hukam Singh was rejected as fewer than 50 members supported it.
- 1987: A motion against Balram Jakhar was negated after being debated.
None of these motions were successful, reflecting the high bar set for the removal of presiding officers.
The latest trigger for this motion appears to be the Chairman allowing ruling BJP members to raise allegations about Congress leaders’ alleged connections to billionaire investor George Soros, whom the ruling party accuses of engaging in “anti-India activities.” The opposition also cited multiple instances where they felt Sh Dhankhar encouraged or provoked the treasury benches to make inflammatory remarks.
The motion has been submitted during the winter session of Parliament, which is scheduled to end on November 30, 2024. Given the procedural requirement of a 14-day notice, there is a possibility that the current notice may not be actionable within this session. If the notice becomes invalid due to the session’s end, the opposition has stated that it will submit a fresh notice during the next session.
The motion against the Vice President is a significant political development and reflects deep dissatisfaction among the opposition with the functioning of the Rajya Sabha under his chairmanship. While the numbers are not in the opposition’s favour, the move symbolizes their effort to safeguard parliamentary democracy and register their protest against what they perceive as partisan behavior by a high constitutional authority.
VICE-PRESIDENT OF INDIA
Vice-President of India is a Constitutional post under Article-63 of our constitution. Vice-President is second senior most executive of India. Vice President is Ex-Officio Head of Rajya Sabha . ( Also known as Upper House or Council of States )
Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, was our first Vice-President and now Sh. Jagdeep Dhankar is our 14th Vice-President. Sh. Venkaiya Naidu, was our 13th vice-president.
Tenure of Vice-President is 5 years, but tenure is not fixed. This means he can be removed before completion of his tenure. The power to remove Vice-President lies with our Parliament. Rajya Sabha is more powerful on this issue. Any motion to remove Vice-President can be introduced in Rajya Sabha only and the same must be passed by Rajya sabha by its simple majority. Then the motion is placed before the Lok Sabha and after getting the assent of Lok Sabha by its simple majority, the removal motion stands passed by Parliament and Vice-President stand removed from his post. This have never happened in history of India, but for the first time, a notice has been submitted for the removal of the vice-president in Rajya Sabha by opposition parties.
Appointment
Vice President of India is appointed by an Electoral College consisting of All Members of Parliament (Elected as well nominated)
The oath of office to Vice-President is administered by President.
In case vice president wants to resign, he submits his resignation to the PRESIDENT
Qualification to be Vice President
Any citizen of India, above 35 years of age and eligible to be elected as a member of Rajya Sabha can contest election of Vice-President. He must not be holding any office of profit under Govt. of India, Govt. of State or under any local or other authority under the control of any said Govts (may hold the post of President, Vice-President, Governor, Minister of Union or of any State Govt.).
Vice-President is Ex-officio, Chairperson of Rajya Sabha.
Although he is not a member of Rajya Sabha but still he is Chairperson of Rajya Sabha and presides proceedings of the same. Our Constitution does not prescribe duties and powers of Vice-President. He has all duties and powers in capacity of
Election of Vice-President
The post of Vice-President is elected one. Election are conducted by Election Commission of India. Any dispute regarding election of Vice-President is resolved by Supreme Court.
System of Election
Vice-President is elected by system of proportional representation system by single transferable vote.
Salary of Vice-President is Rs. 4 lakh per month. He is paid salary in capacity of Chairperson of Rajya Sabha (not in capacity of Vice-President). Salary is taxable.
In case of death or resignation by the President, Vice-President do assumes his office as Acting President for a maximum period of 6 months. It is mandatory that elections for new President must be conducted within 6 months to elect new President. When Vice-President take charge as Acting President, the post of Vice-President remains vacant and Acting President do not chair the proceeding of Rajya Sabha.
In 1969, after the death of President Dr. Zakir Hussain, Vice-President V.V. Giri was sworn in as Acting President. He too resigned after one month and contested election for the post of President. Thereafter Chief Justice of India Justice Mohammad Hidayatullah took over as Acting President. There after V.V. Giri became President after winning the election of president.
In 1977, after the death of President Farkruddin Ali Ahmed, Vice-President Sh. B.D. Jatti took charge as Acting President of India. Elections were conducted by ECI to elect a new President. Mr. Neelam Sanjeev Reddy was elected and he became our President and Sh. B.D. Jatti returned back to the office of Vice-President.
Note:- In U.S.A. in case of death or resignation of the President, Vice-President do assumes office of President for the remaining period of the President. Elections are held to elect new President only after 4 years on regular basis. After the murder of President John F. Kennedy in 1963, Vice-President Mr. Johnson became President for the rest of the tenure of Kennedy. Similarly in 1974 after the resignation of President Richard Nixon (due to Watergate scandal), Vice-President Zerald Ford became President for the rest of the tenure of Nixon.
Procedure of Election
Vice-President is elected by an Electoral College consisting of elected as well as nominated members of Parliament (in Lok Sabha 543 + in Rajya Sabha 245, total 788 members), only these 788 members of Parliament have the right to vote in the election of Vice-President. The vote value of each member is one. Every Electoral College member has to mark his preferences on the Ballot Paper using a special pen provided by election commission .
Sample Image of a Ballot Paper
| Name of the Candidates | Preference for example |
| A | 2 |
| B | 7 |
| C | 1 |
| D | 4 |
| E | 6 |
| F | 5 |
| G | 3 |
First of all, invalid votes are separated and rejected. Then a Quota is determined by using this formula
In the last Vice-Presidential election held on 6th Aug 2022 total valid vote were 710, then a quota was calculated as under:—
Then first preference votes were counted. If any candidates receives the desired quota, he is declared as elected. If none of the candidate receives the desired quota then the candidate with the least votes is eliminated and second preference votes are counted. Then if any candidates secures the desired quota, by adding 1st and 2nd preference vote, then he is declared elected and this process continues till a candidate gets the desired quota.
In the last vice presidential elections , Mr Jagdeep Dhankar was the NDA Candidate
While Mrs. Margaret Alva was the opposition parties candidate.
After counting of 1st preference votes. Mr. Jagdeep Dhankar got 528 votes while Mrs. Margaret Alva got 182 votes. As Mr Dhankar achieved the desired quota, the returning officer ( Secretary General of Rajya Sabha Sh. Utpal Kumar Singh ) declared Mr. Jagdeep Dhankar elected as new Vice-President of India and issued him winning certificate.
Mr. Jagdeep Dhankar took oath & assumed office on 11th August, 2022 for a five years term.
