VP poll win easy, Dhankhar faces real test now
On paper, the abrasive Jagdeep Dhankhar may seem like an odd choice for running the Rajya Sabha, which he is mandated to do following his victory in the vice-presidential elections. A forever attention seeker, he was combative as West Bengal governor, often acerbic in taking on the Mamata government. That Mamata was not exactly a paragon of constitutional virtue is a different matter. The way he went about his business, reprimanding officials, issuing diktats, indulging in name-calling and fighting Twitter battles while attacking Mamata and her administration, indicated his gross transgression of gubernatorial responsibilities.
Little wonder he was seen as the real leader of the Opposition. For the BJP, Dhankhar brings much more to the table than being argumentative. He is a veteran parliamentarian and hails from the politically significant Jat community in Rajasthan. Also important is his legal skill, as he is a law grad who earlier practised in the Supreme Court. Since RS is run per the rules of procedure in the Council of States, his legal acumen will be put to test.
The Upper House is part of the deliberative and consultative process of law-making, an attribute that has been missing in recent years. For instance, had Dhankhar’s predecessor ensured the actual counting of votes before ramming through the three farm laws, the nation could have avoided an ugly stand-off with the farmers. The laws were passed by voice vote after little debate amid vociferous protests by the Opposition, which forced them to take the fight to the streets. Also, very few bills have been sent to the standing committees for review. One of them, the data protection bill, recently came back with rich recommendations, prompting the government to withdraw the earlier version to replace it with a comprehensive one.
Dhankhar has the opportunity to change that narrative. When BJP’s Bhairon Singh Shekhawat was VP, he ran the Rajya Sabha in a bipartisan manner, earning laurels from both sides of the aisle. Both Shekhawat and Dhankhar began their political journies with the Janata Party. Dhankar refused to be a rubber-stamp governor; he ought to now show he can be a neutral umpire and not a rubber-stamp VP.