Agony of exit: On the resignation of Jagdeep Dhankhar
Jagdeep Dhankar’s resignation as Vice-President is a setback for parliamentary democracy
Mr. Dhankhar’s conduct as Chair of the Rajya Sabha during the last three years has been controversial. His partisan approach led to a motion for his removal by the Opposition, another first in parliamentary history. He questioned the inclusion of the words ‘secular’ and ‘socialist’ in the Constitution, publicly aligning with the RSS’s call for a debate on them. He has been a champion of parliamentary supremacy in the context of judicial independence and vocal about corruption in the judiciary. While seeking to uphold the supremacy of Parliament and to draw a line of acceptable conduct for the judiciary, he entertained an Opposition move to impeach Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav of the Allahabad High Court who had made communally charged remarks in public. Mr. Dhankhar acknowledged receiving a motion signed by over 50 MPs for Justice Yadav’s removal and said he was verifying their signatures. He had also accepted an Opposition motion for the removal of the Delhi judge. Mr. Dhankhar had few options other than what he did, going by the rules. But that put him on a collision course with the government. His resignation weakens India’s parliamentary democracy.