Dhankhar spoke for almost 30% of time in RS, claims TMC's Derek O'Brien

Slamming the chairman on the last day of the Winter Session, O'Brien said that the Upper House ran for a total of 43 hours till December 18 and Dhankhar spoke for around four and a half hours

Amid the opposition's charge that Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar does not allow them to speak, Trinamool Congress (TMC) Parliamentary Party Leader Derek O'Brien on Friday alleged that the Rajya Sabha chairman spoke for around 30 per cent of the time the Upper House functioned.

Slamming the chairman on the last day of the Winter Session, O'Brien in a brief statement said that the Upper House ran for a total of 43 hours till December 18 and Dhankhar spoke for around four and a half hours.

There are no official records of speaking time of the Rajya Sabha chairman or its members.

"As of December 18, the Rajya Sabha ran for a total of 43 hours. Of this, the bills were discussed for 10 hours," the TMC leader said.

"The debate on the Constitution lasted for 17 and a half hours. Of the remaining 15 and a half hours who spoke for four and a half hours or nearly 30 per cent of the time? It was the Rajya Sabha chairman and vice president," O'Brien said.

"Did Jagdeep Dhankhar set a new record in Parliament?" he asked.

The remarks come in the backdrop of an impeachment motion being brought by the opposition against the chairman, which was rejected by Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh earlier on Thursday.

An opposition leader, who did not want to be named, said they will bring a motion again in the upcoming session.

"There's no question of not bringing it," he said.

The Rajya Sabha deputy chairman had on Thursday dismissed the impeachment notice given by the opposition seeking Dhankhar's removal while ruling it an act of impropriety, being severely flawed and drawn in haste to mar his reputation.

The ruling was tabled in the House by Rajya Sabha secretary general P C Mody.

The deputy chairman said that the "personally targeted" notice lacked a factual basis and appeared to be aimed at securing publicity. He also called it a "misadventure".

At least 60 opposition members had signed the notice for Dhankhar's removal from his post earlier on December 10, alleging that they did not have trust in him and that he was "biased".

In a press conference last week, the opposition leaders from the INDIA bloc parties had said that the chairman's "partisan" conduct prompted them to move a notice for his removal as the vice president and alleged that politics has taken precedence over rules in the Upper House of Parliament.