Vice President Dhankhar is being impeached by the Indian opposition due to alleged partisanship

Opposition parties in India are attempting to remove Vice President Dhankhar from office on charges of partisanship while serving as the head of the parliament.

Opposition parties accused Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar of partisanship in his position as chairman of the upper house of parliament and launched an impeachment process against him on Tuesday, marking a first in Indian parliamentary history.

Opposition lawmakers have accused the vice president of favoring the administration in parliamentary processes. The vice president is also India’s second-highest constitutional office and can function as president when necessary. Regarding the situation, Dhankhar’s office has not commented.

The decision was made by Jairam Ramesh, the spokesperson for the main opposition Congress party, who described it as a “painful” but essential action to save parliamentary democracy. He claimed that because of Dhankhar’s “extremely partisan manner” in running the council of states’ operations, the opposition had “no option but to formally submit a no-confidence motion” against him.

The motion highlights the widening divide between opposition parties and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, albeit being primarily symbolic because the opposition does not have the necessary number of votes to remove Dhankhar. Dhankhar, a candidate for Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), was chosen to serve as vice president.

Disruptions have plagued the current winter session of Parliament, which started on November 25 and is scheduled to end on December 20. Ethnic violence in Manipur, religious conflicts in northern India, and bribery accusations against billionaire Gautam Adani are all contentious topics.

It is unlikely that the impeachment motion, which calls for a 14-day notice, would be discussed during this session. The BJP has not yet responded.

As opposition parties fight back against what they perceive to be an increasing imbalance in the country’s democratic procedures, this action shows the widening rift in Indian politics.