New Delhi:
“Never use a vegetable-cutting knife for bypass surgery” – Rajya Sabha Chairperson Jagdeep Dhankhar declared Tuesday, in his first comments since the opposition’s motion of no-confidence in his stewardship of the Upper House was junked for procedural irregularities.
“Just look at the notice against the Vice President… (as Vice President, Mr Dhankhar is the de facto Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha) … You’ll be shocked. (Former Prime Minister) Chandra Shekarji once said, ‘Never use a vegetable cutting-knife for bypass surgery’,” he said.
“That notice wasn’t even a vegetable-cutting knife… it was rusted. There was haste. When I read it, I was astonished,” Mr Dhankhar said at gathering of women journalists, “But what surprised me more was that none of you read it. If you had… you wouldn’t have slept for days!”
He also stressed the need for the right to expression, calling it “the definition of democracy”, and held forth on the subject, saying “If expression is qualified, compromised, or made subject to coercion, democratic values are flawed. It is antithetical to democratic evolution.”
“Before you use your vocal cords… allow your ears to entertain the other point of view. Without these two elements, democracy can neither be nurtured nor blossom,” Mr Dhankhar said.
READ | Opposition Moves No-Confidence Vote Against Jagdeep Dhankhar
The motion – filed in protest by the Congress after claiming Mr Dhankhar refused to allow its MPs to respond to attacks by those from the BJP – on the Sonia Gandhi-George Soros issue – was rejected on various grounds, including Mr Dhankhar’s name being misspelt and the lack of a 14-day notice period.
READ | Opposition’s No Trust Move Against Veep Jagdeep Dhankhar Rejected
Deputy Chairman Harivansh declared the motion had been tabled to create a ‘narrative’ against Mr Dhankhar. The only thing correct, he said, was that 60 opposition MPs had signed it.
Last week, in his first response to the notice Mr Dhankhar said he felt “personally pained” and slammed the Congress for running a “campaign”. “They have the Constitutional right to move a motion against me… but day-in and day-out, a campaign is going on against the Chairman,” he said.
READ | “World Watching Us”: J Dhankhar On Chaotic Parliament Session
The Congress, meanwhile, had defended the filing of the motion by labelling Mr Dhankhar the “biggest disruptor” of the Upper House. Party boss Mallikarjun Kharge said Mr Dhankhar’s actions had “hurt the dignity of India”. “For three years, he gave us neither time nor space to raise critical issues,” he said.
READ | “Compelled To… Chairman Biggest Disruptor In Rajya Sabha”: M Kharge
The Sonia Gandhi-George Soros issue dominated the closing week of Parliament, triggering many furious stand-offs between the government and the Congress, including fierce verbal spats between the bosses of the ruling party (JP Nadda) and the Opposition (Mr Kharge).
The BJP had alleged the Soros-founded OCCRP, the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, publishes reports “targeting” India, and that these are then used by the Congress to criticise the ruling party and government, and Indian business interests. The Congress, just as firmly, refuted the allegation. “We are patriots…” the party thundered in response.
The concerted attacks by the BJP came as the opposition tried to raise issues like the violence in Uttar Pradesh’s Sambhal over the survey of a mosque and the United States indictment against the Directors of Adani Green Energy – a renewable energy company owned by the Adani Group. It followed French media company Mediapart claiming “links between the OCCRP and the US government”.
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