Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar Quits Citing Health, But Opposition Smells Political Undercurrent

New Delhi: As President Droupadi Murmu on Tuesday accepted Jagdeep Dhankhar's resignation from the post of Vice President on India and the Union home ministry notifying his departure, the sudden decision triggered a firestorm of speculation on whether there was more to it than "to prioritise health care" as cited by the latter as reason for his surprise move.

PM Narendra Modi wished him “good health”, and said in his message: “Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar Ji has got many opportunities to serve our country in various capacities, including as the Vice President of India.” But several opposition leaders raised doubts over why the lawyer-politician from Rajasthan actually stepped down and that too on the first day of the Monsoon Session of Parliament.

Congress president and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge was reserved in his remarks. He

said: “Only he (Dhankhar) knows the reason, We have nothing to say on this”.

MP Manish Tewari said the "resignation remains somewhat of a riddle, which is at the moment wrapped in a mystery and rolled in an enigma.”

However, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh expressed his apprehension that Dhankhar resigned after being slighted by some of his party colleagues.

In a post on “X” he wrote, “Yesterday, Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar chaired the Business Advisory Committee of the Rajya Sabha at 12.30 PM. It was attended by most members, including Leader of the House JP Nadda and the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Kiren Rijiju. After some discussion, the BAC decided to meet again at 4.30 PM. At 4.30 PM, the BAC reassembled under the chairmanship of Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar. It waited for Shri Nadda and Shri Rijiju to arrive. They never came. Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar was not personally informed that the two senior ministers were not attending. Rightly he took umbrage and rescheduled the BAC for today at 1 PM.”

Dhankhar had informed the House on Monday that he had received a notice for a motion to remove Justice Yashwant Varma, who is embroiled in a suspected corruption case, from 63 opposition MPs.

The notice apparently went against the government's plan to marshal a bipartisan motion for Justice Varma's removal in the Lok Sabha and not in the Upper House.

Ramesh deduced that “something very serious happened yesterday between 1 PM and 4.30 PM” following which Dhankhar resigned. While admitting that Dhankhar’s reasons for resigning should be “respected”, the Congress leader still saw a different play and wrote that “it is also a fact that there are far deeper reasons for his resignation”.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut also remarked that “big politics is going on behind the scenes, and it will be revealed soon.” He asserted that he was not ready to believe that it was due to health. “I was observing him yesterday. He is fine... something will definitely happen in September.” Meanwhile, Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh called on President Murmu. The Rashtrapati Bhavan shared a picture of the meeting on X.

The ruling NDA has a comfortable edge in the elections to the vice president's post

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