Congress Urges VP-Elect: Stay Impartial Like Dr. Radhakrishnan
Congress reminds VP-elect of democracy’s need for impartiality.
The Indian National Congress, on September 10, 2025, congratulated Vice President-elect C.P. Radhakrishnan on his electoral victory while issuing a pointed reminder of the importance of impartiality in his new role as Rajya Sabha Chairman. Invoking the words of India’s first Vice President, Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, from his 1952 Rajya Sabha address, the Congress emphasized the need for fairness in parliamentary democracy to prevent it from descending into tyranny.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh, in a statement on X, quoted Dr. Radhakrishnan’s iconic speech from May 16, 1952: “I belong to no party, and that means I belong to every party in this House. It shall be my endeavour to uphold the traditions, the highest traditions, of parliamentary democracy and act towards each party with fairness and impartiality with ill-will to none and goodwill to all.” Radhakrishnan had warned that a democracy risks becoming tyrannical if the opposition cannot “criticise fairly, freely, and frankly” government policies. Ramesh stressed that Radhakrishnan embodied these principles throughout his tenure, setting a high standard for impartiality.
C.P. Radhakrishnan, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate, secured a decisive victory in the vice presidential election on September 9, 2025, winning 452 votes against the opposition’s joint candidate, Justice (retired) B. Sudershan Reddy, who garnered 300 votes. The margin of 152 votes exceeded expectations, with 15 votes deemed invalid and 14 MPs abstaining. Despite the numerical defeat, the Congress hailed the opposition’s performance as a “moral and political” victory, noting that Reddy secured 40% of the vote share, a significant increase from the 26% the opposition achieved in the 2022 vice presidential polls.
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Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge extended best wishes to Radhakrishnan while thanking Reddy for his principled campaign, underscoring the opposition’s unity. Ramesh echoed this sentiment, asserting that the opposition’s cohesive effort and respectable vote share signaled a continued ideological battle against the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The Congress framed the election outcome as a moral defeat for the BJP, despite its numerical advantage, highlighting the opposition’s growing strength.
As Radhakrishnan prepares to assume the vice presidency and the role of Rajya Sabha Chairman, the Congress’s message serves as both a congratulatory note and a call to uphold the democratic values exemplified by Dr. Radhakrishnan. With his extensive political experience as a former MP and governor, Radhakrishnan’s tenure will be closely watched to see if he can maintain the impartiality urged by the opposition, ensuring fair parliamentary discourse in a polarized political landscape.
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