The resignation of Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar has the potential of turning into a storm, especially as the Monsoon Session of Parliament is on.
Dhakar has cited deteriorating health as the reason. However, the abruptness of his action, announced through a post on “X” at 9.25 pm at the end of a day during which he had been active in his role as chairman of Rajya Sabha, has set Lutyen's Delhi's grapevine abuzz. The outgoing Vice-President's visit to Jaipur on Wednesday July 23 was notified by his secretariat earlier in the day. This, too, added to the grist.
During the day, he had perhaps gone contrary to the government's announcement that the impeachment proceedings against Justice Yashwant Verma would be initiated through the Lok Sabha. He admitted a parallel motion in Rajya Sabha and also outlined the intricacies of the setting up of a three-member panel to look into the charges.
With Rajya Sabha in the picture, the Vice-President of India and the Speaker of Lok Sabha are to jointly appoint the panel. Had Rajya Sabha not admitted the motion, the prerogative would have rested on the Lok Sabha Speaker alone.
The first Vice-President to resign from his post, V.V. Giri, had done so on July 20, 1969. Giri was sworn in as acting President on May 3 after the death of President Zakir Hussain. He decided to contest for President of India as an Independent (with overt support of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, who was opposed to the choice of Neelam Sanjiva Reddy as official candidate of Congress) and thus quit to make the process fair, though there was no bar on his contesting while in office.
Moments before resigning as Acting President, Giri appended his signature to the Bank Nationalisation Ordinance, which was a signature slab of Indira Gandhi's “Garibi Hatao” plank. His resignation set in motion a train of events that altered the history of India's politics.
Onus on Consensus
Dhankar's resignation will add some heat to the political cauldron. Speculation has been rife over the choice of the next President of the BJP, with incumbent J.P. Nadda having overshot his tenure by a few years. The ruling dispensation's complexities will enhance. The new incumbent has to be someone acceptable to the party organisation as well as its mentor body, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). The new Vice President of India will have to be someone acceptable to National Democratic Alliance partners (NDA). Thus, consensus-building will hit its zenith.
The NDA has adequate numbers in the electoral college for the election of Vice President. Notably, when Dhankar was elected in 2022, the BJP had a clear majority in the Lok Sabha. Post-2024, it now needs NDA allies.
Choosing Dhankar's successor isn't a time-bound task. Article 63 of the Constitution of India, which deals with the office of the Vice-President, the ex-officio Chairman of Rajya Sabha, says the vacancy should be filled “as soon as possible”. The Election Commission has to determine the date. The words “as soon as possible” also appear in Article 93, which deals with Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha. It says the House shall elect two of its members “as soon as possible” to these two posts. No election has taken place for Deputy Speaker after M. Thambidurai demitted office in June 2019 on the expiry of the term of 16th Lok Sabha. The 17th Lok Sabha (June 2019 -24) had no Deputy Speaker and the current House is yet to elect one.
Harivansh to Hold Fort
There is no proviso for an ‘Acting Vice President'. However, since Parliament is in session, the duties of the presiding office of the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) will fall upon Harivansh Narain Singh, who has been the Deputy Chairman since August 2018. A distinguished editor before being elected to Rajya Sabha on Janata Dal (United) ticket from Bihar, he will hold charge, just as his predecessor Violet Alva had done when Giri quit in 1969.
Harivansh is the 13th Deputy Chairman in the history of Rajya Sabha. All his predecessors retired as Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, with the sole exception of Pratibha Patil, a former Speaker of Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha, who went on to become Rajasthan's Governor and in 2007 was elected the President of India.
The NDA's coalition politics in the run-up to Bihar elections also create a possibility of Harivansh's elevation. However, seeing recent appointments, which have given primacy not only to BJP insiders but also emphasised on their RSS credentials, this seems an unlikely option.
Dhankar began his political career as a Janata Dal leader and was made a deputy minister by Prime Minister Chandrashekhar. He joined the BJP a few years back and was soon appointed the Governor of West Bengal. His tenure in Kolkata was marked by his run-ins with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
Dhankar was the second new entrant to the BJP after Satyapal Malik to have gained prominence in the Narendra Modi-era, chagrining the Sangh's old guard. The fallout of his resignation may cause a lively organisational debate in the BJP.
Vice President's Function
Apart from presiding over Rajya Sabha, the Vice President of India has no other defined duties. Article 65 says the Vice President shall discharge the functions of the President during the temporary absence of the President, illness or any other cause by reason of which he is unable to discharge his functions.
The First President, Dr Rajendra Prasad, in June 1960 had asked Vice President Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan to act as President for a fortnight when he went on an official visit to the USSR. In May 1961, Dr Prasad took seriously ill and underwent surgery, and then as well Dr Radhakrishnan discharged the duties of the President. He was elected as President in May 1962 after Dr Prasad retired.
When President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed (who signed the proclamation of Emergency) passed away in February 1977 (while the Lok Sabha election process was on), Vice President B.D. Jatti became acting President. He accepted the resignation of Indira Gandhi and swore in Janata Party Prime Minister Morarji Desai in March. Jatti served as Vice President for just over a month under President Neelam Sanjiva Reddy, who was elected in July 1977 and retired on completion of his five-year term on August 31, 1977.
Line of President's Succession
In May 1969, anticipating a constitutional crisis in case Acting President V.V. Giri would not be able to discharge his duties, the Second Schedule of the Constitution was amended and The President (Discharge of Functions) Act 1969 ( Act 16 of 1969) was enacted, which laid down that in the event of the occurrence of vacancies in the offices of both President and Vice President, the Chief Justice of India, or, in his absence, the seniormost judge of Supreme Court available, shall discharge the functions of the President of India.
Thus, a vacancy in the post of Vice President does not leave the Presidency in limbo. Either the Chief Justice of India, or, in his absence, the seniormost Supreme Court Judge may act as President.
Chief Justice M. Hidayatullah thus became Acting President in July 1969. He received US President Richard Nixon on July 31, 1969, when the latter was in India on a state visit. Hidayatullah, after retiring from the Supreme Court, was elected as Vice-President in 1979 and served till 1984.
Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author
