Deputy Rajya Sabha Chairman Harivansh steps in amid void
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New Delhi: With Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar 's resignation, the Rajya Sabha is now without its chairman, placing the responsibility of steering the House on deputy chairman Harivansh during the Monsoon session-until a new Vice-President is elected.On Tuesday, Harivansh presided over the Upper House, which saw two adjournments amid opposition sloganeering demanding debates on Operation Sindoor and the Special Intensive Revision of Bihar's voter list. At noon, BJP MP Ghanshyam Tiwari, while in the Chair, read out the Home Ministry notification announcing Dhankhar's resignation. By 2 pm, the House was adjourned for the day.Soon after, leader of the House JP Nadda and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju met Harivansh in his chamber to discuss the way forward. Some JD(U) members later joined the meeting, after which Harivansh left for Rashtrapati Bhavan to call on President Droupadi Murmu.Under Article 91 of the Constitution, when the chairman's post is vacant, the deputy chairman performs the duties. If both posts are vacant, the President can appoint a Rajya Sabha member for the purpose.Since no business could be transacted on Tuesday, Harivansh will take up pending issues from Wednesday. A meeting of the Business Advisory Committee (BAC), to be chaired by him in the afternoon, will fix the date and time for a debate on Operation Sindoor, most likely next week when Prime Minister Narendra Modi returns from his foreign trip. The BAC will also decide the total time for the discussion.A former journalist and media adviser to ex-PM Chandra Shekhar, Harivansh entered the Rajya Sabha in 2014 as a JD(U) MP. He became deputy chairman in 2018 and was re-elected to the post in 2020 during his second term.
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