The opposition was forced to table the no-confidence motion against Rajya Sabha Chair Jagdeep Dhankhar because he is “biggest disruptor” of the Upper House, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge said Wednesday afternoon. “His actions have hurt the dignity of India,” Mr Kharge said, as he also stressed there is no “personal fight” against the Rajya Sabha Chairman.

“We have been compelled to take this step. We have already given a notice. The opposition is here to speak, standing together, on this sensitive issue. I am sad to say the Chairman left us with no option. For three years, he gave us neither time nor space to raise critical issues.”

“We expect protection from the Chairperson… but he keeps gesturing to ruling party MPs to speak. Who will listen to the opposition when the Chair himself defends the government?”

In brief, but hard-hitting, remarks to reporters Mr Kharge also said the Chair “tries to insult opposition leaders” and “indulges in schooling MPs like a headmaster”. “He is working like the government’s spokesperson… the biggest disruptor of the Rajya Sabha is the Chairperson…”

“… (but the) notice for is not about personal grievances or political battles,” he said.

Mr Kharge’s comments came hours after the Congress-led opposition submitted a no-confidence motion against Mr Dhankhar, on grounds of partisan functioning of the House under his stewardship.

READ | Opposition Moves No-Confidence Vote Against Jagdeep Dhankhar

The motion triggered (inevitably) a row as BJP MPs hit back. Both Houses were then adjourned.

On Tuesday, after the motion was filed, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju led the government’s counter. “The NDA has the majority in Rajya Sabha… The notice must be rejected, will be rejected and we will ensure that this kind of action is not accepted,” Mr Rijiju said.

READ | “NDA Has Majority”: Rijiju On No-Trust Vote Against Dhankhar

Mr Rijiju launched an impassioned defence of the Rajya Sabha Chair, describing him as “our guide” and accusing the Congress of having repeatedly insulted the post and Mr Dhankhar.

The proximate cause for the motion – the opposition and Mr Dhankhar have had several run-ins over the course of his tenure so far – was a face-off between Congress and BJP MPs this week over the latter’s claim of collusion between Sonia Gandhi and businessman George Soros.

READ | BJP’s Nadda vs Congress’ Kharge In Soros-Sonia Gandhi Link Row

The attack – claiming links between Mrs Gandhi and a think-tank partially funded by Mr Soros’ foundation, which has advocated for an independent Kashmir – was led in the Rajya Sabha by JP Nadda, who said the link “maligns India and raises national security concerns”.

Mr Nadda also accused the Congress of acting as the “tool” of foreign forces.

Responding for the Congress, Mr Kharge slammed the “lie” and argued his party was always, and remains, committed to upholding India’s democratic values. The unfounded allegations, he said, were a ploy by the BJP to divert the people’s attention from issues affecting the country.

READ | “We Are Patriots, No Question Of Anti-India…”: Congress Rebuts BJP

The Congress and the opposition have said Mr Dhankhar’s handling of that face-off underlined the partisan functioning of the House. Mr Kharge pointed out BJP MPs were allowed to speak, on record, about Mrs Gandhi and George Soros, while the Chair turned down opposition MPs’ trying to speak on other issues, such as the ethnic violence in Manipur and the farmers’ protest.

Both Mr Nadda and Mr Kharge were later summoned to meet Mr Dhankhar in his chamber.

The no-confidence motion was submitted the following day, i.e., Tuesday.

NDTV Explains | No-Trust Vote Against Rajya Sabha Chair, And The Numbers

The motion is unlikely to pass, given the opposition does not have the numbers and because it bypasses a rule stating notice of 14 days is required for the House to consider a vote.

The current Parliament session ends on December 20, nine days away.

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The allegations levelled by Atul Subhash in his suicide note are baseless and Nikita Singhania, his estranged wife, has all the answers, Nikita’s uncle Sushil Singhania has said. Sushil Singhania is an accused in the abetment to suicide case registered by Atul’s brother in Bengaluru. Police have said they have sent a team to Uttar Pradesh’s Jaunpur to question Nikita, her mother Nisha, brother Anurag and uncle Sushil.

In what is the Singhanias’ first response to the massive row triggered by Atul Santosh’s death by suicide and his allegations of harassment against Nikita and her family members, 70-year-old Sushil Singhania said, “I came to know from media reports that I have been named in the FIR. But I have no connection with this. The (divorce) case proceedings have been on for the past three years. Now suddenly this has happened. Our family is not guilty. The court will deliver its judgment.”

“Subhash’s allegations are baseless. Nikita is not here. Once she returns, she will respond to everything. She has an answer to every allegation they have made. I live separately. I am her uncle, but I don’t have much information about the case. They have been handling it,” he said.

Atul Subhash, a 34-year-old techie, was found dead at his Bengaluru home on Monday morning. A ‘justice is due’ placard and a 24-page suicide note was found in his room. The note accused Nikita and her family members of harassing him during the divorce case proceedings to make him pay huge amounts as maintenance and alimony.

Atul’s brother Bikas Kumar has said in his complaint to the police that Atul has detailed in his suicide note how he was being mentally and physically harassed and extorted by the accused.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Whitefield, Shivakumar told news agency ANI, “Atul Subhash committed suicide during the early hours of 9th of December. A complaint has been lodged at the Marathahalli police station in Bengaluru regarding this. Multiple cases were running against him in Uttar Pradesh. His wife and her family members demanded money from him to settle this issue and harassed him. For those reasons, he died by suicide. Based on this complaint, we registered an FIR against the accused. An investigation is underway.”

In an 81-minute video he recorded before dying by suicide, Atul Subhash said he married in 2019 after finding Nikita on a matchmaking website. The couple had a son the next year. He has alleged that his wife’s family would repeatedly demand money running into several lakhs. When he refused to give more money, his wife left the Bengaluru home with their son in 2021.

The next year, Atul wrote in the note, Nikita filed a case against him and his family under multiple sections, including murder and unnatural sex. She alleged that he demanded a dowry of Rs 10 lakh and this put pressure on her father and he died of a heart attack. “This is some poor Bollywood plot. She has already confessed that her father was suffering from long term illness in her cross examination. Her father was getting treated from AIIMS for the last 10 years for heart disease, diabetes etc. Doctors gave him few months and hence we got married quickly,” he has said. This case, he said, was subsequently withdrawn.

Atul has said that his wife and her family first demanded Rs 1 crore to settle the case, but later hiked this to Rs 3 crore. He has detailed a court exchange in which he said that when he told the judge that men are dying by suicide due to false cases, his wife replied, “Then why don’t you?” At this, he said, the judge laughed and asked her to leave the room. Atul has also alleged that the judge said he “must think about his family” and demanded Rs 5 lakh to “settle the case”.

The 34-year-old’s suicide note has strong remarks on the justice system, especially its handling of marital disputes. Raging against the law dealing with such cases, Atul wrote in his suicide note, “The more I work hard and become better at my work, the more I and my family will be harassed and extorted and the whole legal system will encourage and help my harassers… Now, with me gone, there won’t be any money and there won’t be any reason to harass my old parents and my brother. I may have destroyed my body but it has saved everything I believe in.”

Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, now sought after to lead the INDIA Bloc, today thanked all those supporting her — Lalu Yadav was the last voice yesterday to join the chorus.

Ms Banerjee thanked everyone for the “respect” they have shown her, but did not elaborate further.

“I am thankful to everyone for the respect the leaders have shown me. I am thankful to everyone. I pray for everyone’s good health. I want them to stay well and their parties to do well. I want INDIA to do well. That’s what I want but today I want to wish everyone on behalf of our Jagannath Temple,” she said.

The leaders of the parties that form the INDIA alliance  are expected to meet after the ongoing Parliament session. It will be the first after the Lok Sabha elections and also after the Congress’s major electoral losses in Haryana and Maharashtra.