Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar said people holding constitutional posts are not in a position to settle scores, and also warned against “orchestrated attempts” to harm national interests.
Speaking for the first time about the opposition INDIA bloc's no-confidence motion against him, the Rajya Sabha Chairman said one should not use vegetable cutting knife for bypass surgery while claiming that the notice for his removal from the post basically a “rusted” tool.
The Congress-led opposition moved a no-confidence motion against Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar on December 10, the first such incident in the country's parliamentary history. The notice was rejected by Senate Deputy Speaker Harivansh Narayan Singh on December 19 on several grounds, including technical flaws.
“Just look at the indictment against the vice president. Just look at the six links they have given,” Dhankhar said on Tuesday in his first response to the opposition INDIA bloc's notice.
'You'll be shocked. Chandra Shekhar ji once said, 'Never use a vegetable cutting knife for bypass surgery'. The plate wasn't even a vegetable cutting knife; it was rusted. There was a rush,” he said.
The 60 Rajya Sabha members representing the Congress-led INDIA bloc and signing the statement had said they condemned “the partisan conduct” of Dhankhar, which, they said, is “unbecoming of high-level constitutional authorities” , who are expected to act in accordance with and in furtherance of the principles enshrined in the Constitution of India.
“When I read it, I was amazed. But what surprised me even more was that none of you read it. If you had, you wouldn't have been able to sleep for days,” Dhankhar told a group of women journalists.
'Unable to settle accounts'
The Vice President said that any constitutional position must be justified by commitment to sublimity, genuine qualities and constitutionalism.
“We are not in a position to settle scores. Because two things are inalienable for the success of democracy: expression and dialogue,” he said, according to an official statement.
The Vice President warned against orchestrated attempts to harm national interests, saying they are being fueled in an orchestrated manner by forces determined to harm the country's interests.
The INDIA bloc had been planning to move the motion against Dhankhar for quite some time now. By moving the bill during the last winter session of Parliament, the INDIA bloc wanted to send a message to the Chairman of Rajya Sabha who, he alleged, “as Speaker of the House of Representatives does not give his leaders a chance to to speak to the House of Representatives.” House.'
“Just look at the indictment against the vice president. Just look at the six links they gave…it was rusted. There was a rush.'
“Their goal is to destroy our constitutional institutions brick by brick, insult the presidency, and mind you, who is the president? The first tribal woman to become president of this country,” Dhankar noted.
Just look at the indictment against the vice president… it was corroded. There was a rush.