Why did Jagdeep Dhankhar resign? Reasons for V-P's sudden decision ‘far deeper’ than health issues, claims Congress

Why did Jagdeep Dhankhar resign? Jagdeep Dhankhar resigned as Vice President of India on Monday after an eventful day at the Parliament.

Dhankhar's sudden resignation, citing medical reasons, came hours after he presided over the sitting of the Rajya Sabha as chairperson during the first day of Monsoon Session of Parliament.

“To prioritise health care and abide by medical advice, I hereby resign as the Vice President of India, effective immediately, in accordance with Article 67(a) of the Constitution,” Dhankhar said in his resignation to President Droupadi Murmu on Monday night.

But Dhankhar resigned mid-term on Monday. In doing so, he became the third Vice President to quit before completing his term. Before Dhankha, VV Giri and Bhairon Singh Shekhawat were the two Vice Presidents who resigned before completing their terms.

Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh also raised questions over the absence of Union ministers JP Nadda and Kiren Rijiju from the second Business Advisory Committee on Monday, saying "something very serious" happened between 1 pm and 4.30 pm on Monday to account for their deliberate absence from the second BAC.

.Ramesh pointed out that Dhankhar chaired the BAC of the Rajya Sabha at 12.30 pm on July 21, first day of Monsoon Session of Parliament.

"It was attended by most members, including Leader of the House J P Nadda and the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Kiren Rijiju. After some discussion, the BAC decided to meet again at 4:30 PM," he said in a post on X.

At 4.30 pm, the BAC reassembled under the chairmanship of Dhankhar, the Congress leader said.

"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," Ramesh claimed.

"Now in a truly unprecedented move, Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar has resigned. He has given health reasons for doing so. Those should be respected. But it is also a fact that there are far deeper reasons for his resignation," Ramesh claimed.

"To the extent possible under the current G2 ruling regime, he tried to accommodate the Opposition. He was a stickler for norms, proprieties, and protocol, which he believed were being consistently disregarded in both his capacities," he said.

"Jagdeep Dhankar's resignation speaks highly of him. It also speaks poorly of those who had got him elected as Vice President in the first instance," he said.

Earlier on Monday, the opposition raised questions over Dhankhar's sudden resignation as the vice president, with the Congress saying that clearly, there is "far more to his totally unexpected resignation than meets the eye".

The Congress has also urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to convince Dhankhar to change his mind.

"The sudden resignation of the Vice President and Chairman of the Rajya Sabha is as shocking as it is inexplicable. I was with him alongside a number of other MPs till around 5 PM today and had spoken to him over the phone at 7:30 PM," Ramesh said in a post on X on Monday night.

Dhankhar recently underwent angioplasty at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi.

In his eventful tenure as Rajya Sabha chairman, Dhankhar had several run-ins with the opposition, which had also moved a motion to impeach him.

The motion, the first ever in independent India to remove a vice president, was later rejected by Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh.

(With PTI inputs)