How power-tripping Dhankhar became a thorn in Centre's side

Barely two days after Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar's shock resignation, sources revealed to India Today TV that he was in touch with a senior Congress leader regarding an Opposition-backed motion to impeach Justice Yashwant Varma.

Concerned by the development, the government made three attempts to dissuade Dhankhar from independently accepting the Opposition's proposal, sources further told India Today TV.

According to sources, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, Law Minister Arjun Meghwal and Leader of the Rajya Sabha, JP Nadda urged the Vice President to wait, citing that there was an ongoing effort to build a consensus for a joint impeachment motion.

In a rare act of dissent, Dhankhar went ahead and announced that he had received signatures from the Opposition MPs in the Upper House.

Four to five days before the Monsoon Session of the Parliament started, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju had already informed the Vice President of the Centre's intention of going ahead with a proposal in the Lok Sabha to move an impeachment motion against Justice Varma. Dhankhar was also told that a similar proposal would be introduced in the Rajya Sabha as well.

A day before the Monsoon Session started and Dhankhar's shock exit from the Upper House, Union Minister Rijiju reiterated the same information to the former Vice President.

By then, the government had already collected the signatures, including those from Opposition party members, in the Lower House.

Meanwhile, Dhankhar met a few Opposition leaders on Sunday and Monday where a proposal to bring about an impeachment motion against Justice Varma was discussed.

However, the Vice President remained tight-lipped about what the Opposition said to him.

By Monday morning, it became clear that the Vice President had met a senior leader from Congress and was prepared to formally accept the signatures collected by the Opposition leaders and announce the motion in the House that very day.

During this time, the government reached out to the Vice President three times, expressing the view that the signatures being collected should also include those of ruling party MPs, as the agenda had been decided by consensus.

First, JP Nadda and Kiren Rijiju met with the Vice President. The second time, Rijiju and Arjun Meghwal met him. The third time, only Meghwal met him and conveyed that the government should be taken into confidence and that signatures from ruling party MPs were also important.

But the Vice President did not budge and gave no assurance to the government. He gave a clear indication that he would read out the list of Opposition MPs in the House.

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