Why in the News?
The Vice-President of India, Jagdeep Dhankhar resigned citing health reasons, creating a rare mid-term vacancy in India’s second-highest constitutional office.
What happens if VP resigns?
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About Vice-President (VP) of India
- Position: Second-highest constitutional post; deputy to the President.
- Parliamentary Role: Serves as ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.
- Succession: Ranks second in order of precedence and first in line to become President.
- Membership: Is a member of Parliament, not directly elected by the people.
- Qualifications:
- Citizenship: Must be a citizen of India.
- Age: Minimum 35 years.
- Office of Profit: Should not hold any.
- Parliamentary Eligibility: Must qualify for election to Rajya Sabha (unlike President, who must qualify for Lok Sabha) due to the VP’s role in the Upper House.
- Roles and Responsibilities:
- Rajya Sabha Chairmanship: Presides over sessions and ensures order.
- Bill Classification: Refers money bills to the Lok Sabha Speaker.
- No Independent Powers: Has no executive or legislative powers unless acting as President.
Election Procedure:
- Constitutional Basis: Governed by Article 66.
- Electoral College: Comprises 543 Lok Sabha MPs, 233 elected Rajya Sabha MPs, and 12 nominated Rajya Sabha members.
- Voting Method: Proportional representation by single transferable vote and secret ballot.
- No Whip Allowed: Parties cannot issue voting whips.
- Conduct: Managed by the Election Commission; Returning Officer is the Secretary-General of either House (on rotation).
- Winning Quota: Requires 50% of valid votes + 1; votes are transferred in rounds if no candidate secures majority in the first round.
Resignation and Removal:
- Resignation
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- Article 67(a): VP submits his/her resignation to the President. Parliamentary approval is NOT needed, and the resignation takes effect immediately upon receipt.
- No Acting VP: Constitution doesn’t provide for an acting Vice-President.
- Presiding in Absence: Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha presides in VP’s absence (currently Harivansh Narayan Singh).
- Example: Dhankhar, who took office in 2022, is only the third VP in Indian history to resign before completing his term, after V.V. Giri and R. Venkataraman.
- Removal
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- Article 67(b): Removal process begins in Rajya Sabha with 14 days’ notice.
- Voting Requirement: Needs effective majority in Rajya Sabha and simple majority in Lok Sabha.
- No Grounds Specified: Constitution doesn’t list specific removal grounds.
- Judicial Immunity: Article 122 bars courts from questioning parliamentary proceedings related to removal.
- No Precedent: No VP has been removed so far.
| [UPSC 2013] With reference to Parliament, consider the following statements:
1.The Chairman and the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha are not the members of that House. 2.While the nominated members of the two Houses of the Parliament have no voting right in the presidential election, they have the right to vote in the election of the Vice President. Which of the statements given above is/are correct? Options: (a) 1 only (b) 2 only (c) Both 1 and 2* (d) Neither 1 nor 2 |
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