The Opposition on Tuesday moved a no-confidence motion against Vice-President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar. It is first such action in India’s parliamentary history.

According to media reports, the motion was submitted with 65 signatures from members of various parties, shortly after chaotic scenes unfolded in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. Although the motion is likely to be defeated due to the ruling party’s numerical advantage in the Upper House, the Opposition aims to highlight its grievances, especially the alleged denial of opportunities to speak in the House.

"ALL parties belonging to the INDIA group have had no option but to formally submit a no-confidence motion against the learned Hon'ble Chairman of the Rajya Sabha for the extremely partisan manner in which he has been conducting the proceedings of the Council of States. It has been a very painful decision for the INDIA parties to take, but in the interests of parliamentary democracy they have had to take this step. The motion has just been submitted to the Secretary General of the Rajya Sabha", Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh wrote on microblogging website 'X'.

The no-confidence motion was supported by MPs from several Opposition parties – the Congress, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), the Samajwadi Party (SP), the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Trinamool Congress (TMC). This motion follows earlier discussions about similar actions against Dhankhar. The Opposition accused him of bias in parliamentary proceedings, NDTV reported.

Meanwhile, the Rajya Sabha was adjourned for the day after a tense session marked by confrontational exchanges between treasury and Opposition benches. The uproar began when BJP leader J P Nadda raised allegations regarding Congress leader Sonia Gandhi’s alleged links to US billionaire George Soros. Nadda accused the Congress leadership of conspiring with Soros to destabilise India.

He cited concerns over the country’s security. As Nadda made these remarks, members of the treasury benches began shouting slogans against the Congress and demanding answers from the grand old party, PTI reported.

Congress Deputy Leader Pramod Tiwari in response rejected the allegations and brought up the ongoing Adani controversy. He referenced claims made by a US attorney that the Adani group had paid Rs 23,000 crore in bribes. The exchange quickly escalated into a shouting match between the two sides. It prompted the Rajya Sabha chairman to adjourn the session for the day.