Jagdeep Dhankhar: An 'illegal' appointment 3 months earlier may have led to VP's resignation, claims report

Appointment of an official might have set the dominos falling, leading to Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar's resignation earlier this week. A report has revealed that VP might have overstepped by allegedly appointing an officer as the Secretary and in-charge of Sansad TV back in April.

Key government sources cited by News18 referred to the incident "a coup-like situation". The Secretary and in-charge of Sansad TV can be appointed only by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet while the VP has no power to make this appointment, said the sources.

The controversial appointment happened after former Sansad TV Secretary Rajit Puhnani was picked as Skill Development Secretary in April. Appointments to these post cannot be done by the President, VP, Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha. Only the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet can make appointments from offer list of the central government, according to the sources quoted by the outlet.

The alleged appointment by Dhankhar was stopped by top officials from the PMO and Rajya Sabha Secretariat while the officer was asked not to take over the charge as it would lead to legal woes, said the sources.

The revelation comes after most of the government officers working with Dhankhar was moved back to their parent cadre.

When Dhankhar resigned on Monday, he cited health grounds as the reason. "It has been a privilege and satisfaction to witness and partake in India's remarkable economic progress and unprecedented exponential development during this significant period. Serving in this transformative era of our nation's history has been a true honour," Dhankar said in the letter.

Initial reports claimed that Dhankhara's admission of an Opposition-sponsored notice to impeach tainted Justice Yashwant Varma led to the rift between the former VP and the central government.  

India