The Vice President should build a better relationship between the opposition and the executive.
The Vice President should build a better relationship between the opposition and the executive.
Jagdeep Dhankhar to take oath as 14th Vice President On Thursday, a day after the term of the country’s current Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu ended. In form of National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidatesHe got 528 out of 710 valid votes in Saturday’s election. Opposition candidate and Congress leader, Margaret Alva, got 182 votes, in which Trinamool Congress did not participate. Mr Dhankhar’s election was a foregone conclusion, as the NDA had a clear majority in the electoral college, which was further strengthened with the support of the Biju Janata Dal and the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP). Mr Dhankhar, a Jat leader from Rajasthan, has been in the Janata Dal and Congress, both in Delhi and the state, before he shifted to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2003. He was appointed as the Governor of West Bengal. He was brought into the national limelight even as the BJP fought hard against the Trinamool Congress (TMC) to take over the reins of the state. A lawyer by training, he never pulled his punches, and juxtaposed political rhetoric and legal reasoning in his frequent run-ins with the West Bengal chief minister and the TMC. He faced allegations of favoritism, but it all ended with the TMC mending the fence with him before his election as vice-president; It supported him indirectly by staying away from elections. The TMC accused the Congress of not consulting her on Ms. Alva’s nomination, but this claim is unsubstantiated, and the entire episode has exposed loopholes in the opposition’s armor. The help they got from TMC added a piece of intrigue to what was otherwise a predictable victory.
The Vice President is also the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, which plays an important role at any time, and even more so in the current state of extreme hostility between the government and the opposition. Parliamentary proceedings have come to a standstill, Members of Parliament have been suspended and communication between the ruling BJP and the opposition parties has been completely broken. The government has repeatedly sidelined the Rajya Sabha in enacting important legislation by arbitrarily classifying pieces of legislation as money bills. The question is now before the Supreme Court. As Vice President, Mr Dhankhar will be expected to facilitate better relations between the ruling party and the opposition parties and uphold the glory and constitutional role of the House. It is not an easy task in the current scenario, but all those investing in parliamentary democracy will be eagerly waiting for his initial steps. Shri Dhankhar’s promotion as Vice President will definitely help BJP politically. His role as Speaker should be more to replace the opposition, to debate and to ensure accountability of the executive. The inauguration of a new vice-president should renew hopes for parliamentary democracy.