By Kumkum Chadha
It was in December last year that 60 INDIA bloc MPs had sought Dhankhar’s removal. They had submitted a notice for a motion to remove him on grounds that he has “acted in a manner that is explicitly partisan and unfair towards members belonging to the Opposition”. Quite expectedly, the notice was dismissed by Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh. His argument: it was drawn in haste to malign the vice-president.
Few months on, the Opposition who had demanded his head are rallying around him. And Dhankhar who had, in the past dug in his heels, did what the Opposition was demanding of him, last year. He put in his papers. He has quit citing health reasons. The haste in which he resigned has left almost everyone stunned. The same Opposition that was baying for his blood is now singing paeans hailing him kisanputra, a farmer’s son.
The somersaults are an interesting read. Congress’ Jairam Ramesh said that Dhankhar should withdraw his resignation in “national interest”. Rewind to the time when Ramesh had alleged that Dhankhar behaved like a “cheerleader for the government instead of a neutral umpire”. Ramesh was also among those leading the Opposition’s no-confidence motion. In a sudden change of heart, Ramesh is all praise for Dhankhar’s “fearlessness”.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge has also come out in support of Dhankhar. Kharge had often accused Dhankhar of not allowing him to speak in the House. As vice-president, Dhankhar serves as ex-officio chairman of the Upper House in Parliament. Significantly, it was for the first time in independent India that a demand to remove the chairman of the Upper House was made. Dhankhar took over as vice-president in August 2022. He put in his papers two years ahead of time. He was due to retire in 2027.
The Dhankhar-Opposition camaraderie is a newly founded one. Until his resignation, he was at loggerheads with the Opposition. If Trinamool MP Kalyan Banerjee had mocked Dhankhar by mimicking him, he had also commented on his “wearing a suit worth lakh of rupees”.
Samajwadi MP Jaya Bachchan’s run in with Dhankhar had something to do with what she perceived as an “unacceptable tone” of his voice during the session: “I need an apology,” the actor-turned-politician had thundered nearly a year ago. Add to that her anger about Dhankhar allegedly turning off the mike when Kharge stood up to speak.
This time around, the tables have turned: Dhankhar has reportedly been axed for “obliging” the Opposition vis-a-vis the impeachment motion of Justice Yashwant Varma. For record, Justice Varma, a judge of the Allahabad High Court, is under a lens following large amounts of cash found at his official residence.
The process of impeachment had already been started by the government in the Lok Sabha. As many as 153 members had signed in support of the impeachment motion. Equally, Dhankhar received a notice from 63 Rajya Sabha members in support of the motion for impeachment. The catch: all signatories were from the Opposition.
So why were the BJP MPs from the Rajya Sabha kept out? A simple answer: they had no idea about the notice in the Rajya Sabha. This was a spanner in the works, rather a bid to undercut the government’s motion in the Lok Sabha. It also robbed the government of the advantage to take a high moral ground on corruption. The government, sources aver, was keen to remove Varma through a consensus.
Accordingly, the 145 signatures against the 100 required to move a motion in Lok Sabha, also included members of the Opposition. Those in the know say that Dhankhar jumped the gun by informing the Rajya Sabha that a notice had been received for the removal: much before Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla informed the lower House.
Read in a sequence this appears part of a gameplan, but given that it was Dhankhar at the helm, it is unlikely that he thought of taking on the powers that be. After all it was under the Modi government that he had enjoyed immense power be it at the Raj Bhawan or as vice-president of India. So, for him to turn the tables on his benefactor makes little sense. Also having reached the vice-president’s post, he had little to gain by aligning with the Opposition. Therefore, more than intent, it was an oversight because going by Dhankhar’s track record he was subservient to a fault.
Another take is that the Dhankhar exit was designed to accommodate Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar as vice-president of the country. The possibility cannot be ruled out, but the hastiness with which Dhankhar resigned or was made to, is contrary to the way the BJP government functions. For starters, it never does anything in a hurry; neither does it trip. Therefore, if Dhankhar had to make way for Kumar, his resignation could have happened before the monsoon session of Parliament rather than it being “there in the morning, gone in the afternoon” kind of a situation. Also, there was no reason for the government to land itself in a situation where it is faced with questions that have no clear answers. As things have panned out, more than the exit, it is the hastiness that is raising eyebrows.
A counter argument to the Nitish Kumar theory is that he remains a formidable player and for the BJP to go to the polls in Bihar minus Nitish would be counter-productive. Add to this, the assertion by the BJP that the next vice-president will be one of their own: read the BJP. However, at the time of going to press, everything was in the realm of speculation: why had Dhankhar resigned suddenly and who would fill in for him. In Dhankhar, the Opposition has found a political issue it can well exploit. But can it brush under the carpet the rocky relationship of the past?
It is common knowledge that all through his tenure, be it as governor or vice-president, Dhankhar has been at loggerheads with the Opposition. Therefore, for him to toe the Opposition line is a bit of a stretch. Equally he is not perceived to be one who would sacrifice office for a principle.
However, the present imbroglio is less about Dhankhar’s exit and more about the RSS-BJP dynamics. Dhankhar’s exit has, of course, left a prized office vacant. All eyes are on who next? Vice-president apart, the who next issue has haunted the BJP even for the party president’s post.
For the record, JP Nadda is on an extended lease. He has had a five-year run as BJP chief and the party is looking for a replacement. It is not about a name, but more about a nominee: will it be one from among the RSS or will the BJP handpick one of its own? Or will there be a compromise candidate?
RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat’s recent statement underscoring the 75 years cap for politicians is seen as the parent party flexing its muscle. Bhagwat’s recent statement about politicians retiring at 75 years was seen as the one targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi who turns 75 in less than two months from now.
Dhankhar’s resignation may not have a direct bearing on this, but it sure has muddied the waters: instead of one, there are now two vacancies to fill. The stakes are, therefore, high with the BJP and RSS tugging hard.
—The writer is an author, journalist and political commentator