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Past the picture he cultivates of a happy-go-lucky Vice-President, Dhankhar is an astute probing thoughts that chooses his time and phrases rigorously
As a lot a participant to gallery as Venkaiah Naidu was along with his witty one-liners, Dhankhar is understood for his lengthy speeches smattered with pointed feedback. (PTI)
When Jagdeep Dhankhar turned the Vice-President, it was seen as an try to make the Trinamool Congress uncomfortable within the Rajya Sabha. The TMC, which has all the time been the loudest voice within the Higher Home, had a bitter affiliation with Dhankhar in West Bengal when he was the governor and run-ins between chief minister Mamata Banerjee and him had turn out to be routine.
Taking over the TMC was not the one motive Dhankhar was chosen because the V-P. A jurist specialising in Constitutional norms was thought-about probably the most in a position candidate to tackle a belligerent Opposition, which was extra aggressive in Rajya Sabha than within the Lok Sabha. The TMC had warned opposition events that “things could be tough with Dhankhar as V-P”. Over time, the opposite events too realised that he was no pushover.
As a lot a participant to gallery as Venkaiah Naidu was along with his witty one-liners, Dhankhar is understood for his lengthy speeches smattered with pointed feedback. For this reason he has usually confronted the Opposition’s ire. Dhankhar, maybe, is the one constitutional head to face two impeachment notices in current occasions.
The cases are many. For instance, final yr, when Congress chief Jairam Ramesh slammed his resolution to permit Jayant Chaudhary to talk about his late father, Dhankhar known as him a “person who can feast at the cremation ground”, drawing robust opposition from the Congress. Additionally, the V-P’s transfer to time period himself an “Eklavya” of the RSS didn’t sit nicely with the Opposition, which claimed that it was proof of him being biased.
Dhankhar additionally missed no alternative to hit out at opposition events for his or her feedback exterior Parliament too. For instance, when Rahul Gandhi travelled overseas and criticised the federal government for compromising on the Structure, Dhankhar took a veiled swipe at him, saying: “The pattern of prejudice against reservation has been handed over to a person holding a constitutional position, who is making serialised anti-India rants on foreign soil and is talking about ending reservations.”
Lately, the V-P couldn’t resist an assault on the Supreme Court docket for rejecting the Nationwide Judicial Appointments Fee (NJAC), calling it a “dark day” and “an act of glaring instance of severe compromise of parliamentary sovereignty and disregard of the mandate of the people”.
Extra just lately, he has come down closely on the Supreme Court docket, calling Article 142 a “nuclear missile which is used by the top court to run down legislations”.
Whereas many attorneys, authorized consultants and the opposition get together might not agree with Dhankhar, the person selected his phrases rigorously on a day when the highest courtroom was listening to the Waqf challenge.
Dhankhar normally initiatives himself as a jester and loves to speak. He’s open in his reward of his spouse Sudesh and says he can not—and won’t—go anyplace with out her. However, past this picture he cultivates of a happy-go-lucky V-P, Dhankhar is an astute probing thoughts that chooses his time and phrases rigorously.
For the federal government, he ticks all the suitable bins. His expertise as jurist is useful whereas conducting affairs within the Higher Home, whereas his background from Rajasthan bolsters his down-to-earth, risen-from-the-ranks picture.
Nonetheless, for the Opposition, Dhankhar is somebody who bends over backwards to please the prime minister and the federal government. They really feel that below him, the Rajya Sabha has sunk to new lows. TMC leaders like Kalyan Banerjee are unrepentant in taking him on. He had as soon as mocked and mimicked the V-P on the steps of Parliament’s Makar Dwaar, bringing to fore the outdated enmity between the 2 sides.
Unbothered by the criticism, the Vice-President is clearly on a mission. Given his perception that the Parliament is supreme, his battle towards the judiciary appears to be a transparent try to claim the notion. The person is clearly on a path to tackle the judiciary and presumably push for an NJAC-like laws.
