Exit Mystery

A major controversy has erupted after the sudden resignation of Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, tendered hours after he had attended the proceedings of the first day of the Monsoon Session of the Rajya Sabha, of which he was the Chairman, on 21 July. The government itself is to blame for this unseemly development. The official reason given out by Dhankhar himself for the resignation – his health problems – does not wash easily. Statements made by some RS members, who attended the session, suggest the Vice President did not show any signs of being so ill that he had to put in his papers immediately late in the evening. Coupled with this the fact that he still had two more years before his tenure was to come to an end gives enough room for speculation, as several Opposition parties are doing, that there is more than meets the eye. Of course, there is no definite and easy clue to what “more” could imply in this situation. He had recently said he would complete his tenure at the right time. The government, which has a knack of springing surprises on the people before announcing something big, should have made a highly important matter such as the resignation or selection of the second-highest constitutional head of the country transparent and convincing.

The Vice President did have health issues that cropped up a few months back. Had his health deteriorated to the extent that he was unable to discharge the responsibilities any longer, the nation should have been informed before the decision for his exit from the office was announced unless a health emergency had occurred. There is no indication whatsoever that such a thing had happened. On the contrary, the Vice President appeared hale and hearty when he had conducted RS business earlier in the day. He even took up important issues such as the impeachment of High Court judge Justice Yashwant Varma from whose house wads of notes were discovered months ago. Only a few hours later the incredulous announcement was made that Dhankhar was stepping down, of all things, on account of failing health.

On another note, any Vice President would be the greatest beneficiary if she or he needs health care as the national exchequer (or rather the taxpayers of the country) would have been forced to pay for his best medical care that may be available anywhere in the world. After resignation, obviously, Dhankhar will now have to pay any medical expenses that he may incur from his own pocket. Significantly, two Union ministers had been conspicuous by their absence from an important meeting presided over by the RS Chairman earlier in the afternoon. Unlike his predecessors, Dhankhar, in his three years in office, became embroiled in several controversies for the statements he made inside and outside the Parliament. He took a stand diametrically opposite to that of the government on the farmers’ protests, while he was over-enthusiastic about corruption in judiciary. He advised the government in a veiled manner against being audacious with people. But, he was more vocal than many of the Union Ministers on issues such as Sanatana Dharma and insertion of the words secularism and socialism in the Constitution.

In one of his first speeches as Vice President on judicial accountability in 2022, he called the Supreme Court’s 2015 judgement striking down the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Act a “glaring instance” of “severe compromise” of parliamentary sovereignty and disregard of the “mandate of the people.” He urged then Chief Justice of India, DY Chandrachud, who was present at the programme, to find out a parallel in the world where “a Constitutional provision was undone.” He wondered why, even after the verdict, there was not even a murmur in the Parliament. He also had a running feud with the Opposition which tried unsuccessfully to impeach him. Of the greatest importance is Dhankhar’s recent statement made on 10 July at JNU where he had said addressing a gathering, “I will retire at the right time – August 2027. Subject to divine intervention.” Now, it seems the divine, in whatever form, has indeed intervened. Before his tenure as Vice President he had been appointed West Bengal Governor, and he had several face-offs with the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government. The latter accused him of turning the Raj Bhavan into an extension of the BJP’s office and acting more as a BJP leader with animus against the Trinamool than as an impartial Governor. Now, with speculation about the reasons for his resignation being rife, bigger surprises may be in store for the country, given the government’s track record and Dhankhar closeness to the RSS.

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