Union minister Kiren Rijiju on Tuesday dubbed the opposition INDIA bloc's move to submit a notice for removal of Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar as "extremely regrettable" and said the government is very proud of him.
Talking to reporters here, the parliamentary affairs minister said the vice president, who is also chairperson of the Rajya Sabha, is extremely professional and impartial.
In a first, parties of the INDIA bloc on Tuesday submitted a notice to bring a motion in Rajya Sabha for the removal of Dhankhar, accusing him of "partisan" conduct as the chairperson of the Upper House.
If the motion is moved, these parties need a simple majority to get it passed, but they do not have the requisite numbers in the 243-member House.
Opposition members, however, insisted that it was a "strong message to fight for parliamentary democracy".
On behalf of the opposition, Congress leaders Jairam Ramesh and Naseer Hussain submitted the notice signed by 60 opposition MPs -- including from the Congress, RJD, TMC, CPI, CPI-M, JMM, AAP, DMK, Samajwadi Party -- to Rajya Sabha Secretary General P C Mody.