The Union government was reportedly unhappy with former vice president Jagdeep Dhankhar's move to introduce an impeachment motion against Allahabad High Court Judge Justice Yashwant Varma in the Rajya Sabha, reports said. The Centre was reportedly planning to initiate the impeachment process in the Lok Sabha.
According to reports, two Union ministers, J.P. Nadda and Kiren Rijuju, reached out to Dhankhar when they came to know that the vice president had acknowledged an impeachment motion moved by the opposition against Justice Varma. The ministers reportedly informed the former VP of their disapproval and informed him that even Prime Minister Narendra Modi was unhappy with the move, Hindustan Times reported.
Jagdeep Dhankhar announced his resignation from the VP post on Monday, on the first day of the monsoon session of Parliament. In the upper house, Dhankhar, addressing the members, acknowledged the receipt of an impeachment motion signed by 63 members. While the Union ministers informed Dhankhar that the process to move the motion in Lok Sabha is underway, and even the Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi had signed it, Dhankhar reportedly told the ministers that he was acting as per the rules of the house.
According to reports, the Centre is keen on initiating the impeachment process from the Lok Sabha and is not interested in taking up the opposition-sponsored motion moved in Rajya Sabha.
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Senior officials in the know of developments told Hindustan Times that the pending impeachment notices were one of the key topics of discussion. The government didn’t want to sit on the issue and may urge the presiding officials to start the impeachment process by appointing a committee of jurists, who will look into the allegations and give a report to Parliament, the officials told the publication.
Dhankhar resigned from the VP post on Monday, citing health reasons. The Union government notified the Parliament about his resignation on July 22. The Election Commission has reportedly begun the process to elect the next VP.
