Jagdeep Dhankhar stepped down as Vice President of India citing health reasons on July 21.
The Congress party-led Opposition, however, has dismissed the explanation of medical issues behind the 74-year-old’s abrupt move, claiming instead that ‘far deeper reasons’ are at play.
The resignation came on the first day of Monsoon Session of Parliament. Dhankhar had an action-packed day at the House of Elders, as the Rajya Sabha is called, before tendering resignation.
On July 22, Prime Minister Narendra Modi wished Dhankhar good health. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh reacted with a dig at the PM. Ramesh, like he usually does, said on X that PM Modi’s social media post had “added to the mystery of his abrupt exit.”
Ramesh also alleged that “kisanputra” has been denied even a dignified farewell, while terming Dhankhar’s resignation as “forced”
In the social media post, the PM said Dhankhar got opportunities to serve our country in various capacities.
“Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar Ji has got many opportunities to serve our country in various capacities, including as the Vice President of India. Wishing him good health,” PM Modi said in post on X.
No one else from the government or the party commented on Dhankhar’s move. In fact, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Member of Parliament (MP) Nishikant Dubey jibed at the Congress for its reactions on Dhankhar’s “unexpected” resignation, implying that the opposition was being dramatic.
“Opposition is playing the role of Kader Khan in the film,” Dubey posted on X while citing a news report from December last year where the opposition parties moved to impeach Dhankar from the Vice President’s office and accused him of being “partisan”.
Opposition-sponsored impeachment notice
Amid the criticism, a decision to initiate an Opposition-sponsored impeachment notice against Justice Yashwant Varma is being linked to Dhankhar’s resignation.
Dhankhar’s taking up the impeachment notice against Justice Varma from the Opposition as Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha reportedly did not go well with the government. Instead of taking up the notice in the Rajya Sabha, the government wanted it initiated in the Lok Sabha, according to reports in media, including the Indian Express and the Hindustan Times.
There is, however, no official word on this reasoning.
The Congress had started collecting signatures two weeks ago, soon after the three-page notice from the in-house inquiry ordered by then Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna against Justice Varma, according to a report in Deccan Herald. The notice has the details of sequence of events, grounds for removal, breach of public trust and probity and recommendation for removal.
The signature collection, however, picked up momentum on July 20, to collect at least 50 signatures – the minimum needed to move a motion in the Rajya Sabha – to initiate the removal of Justice Varma, the Indian Express said.
The government saw this as the Opposition’s move to undermine its own motion on Justice Varma in the Lok Sabha. The government had already collected 145 signatures on the issue in the Lok Sabha, where the minimum requirement for an impeachment motion is 100 signatures. The motion can be moved in either house.
The Opposition did not want the ruling NDA to walk away with the anti-corruption plank on the matter. The Indian Express report said it also wanted to raise the issue of Justice Shekhar Yadav, whose removal has been sought for controversial remarks at a VHP event, along with that of Justice Varma.
63 Signatures to remove Justice Varma
On the afternoon of July 21, Jairam Ramesh, who is also a Rajya Sabha MP, announced on social media: “Today 63 Rajya Sabha MPs belonging to various Opposition parties submitted a notice of motion to the Chairman, Rajya Sabha, for the removal of Justice Yashwant Varma under the Judges Inquiry Act, 1968. A similar motion for the removal of Justice Shekhar Yadav had been submitted to the Chairman, Rajya Sabha, way back on Dec 13, 2024.”
About an hour later, Dhankhar announced in Rajya Sabha that he has accepted the Opposition’s motion. This, when Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla had not informed the House about the impeachment motion.
Later in the day, no one from the government attended the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) meeting started by Dhankhar, hours before his resignation. Congress party cited “insult” to the Vice President as one of the reasons behind his sudden resignation.
Ramesh said in one of his posts on X that “something very serious” occurred between 1 pm and 4.30 pm, which prompted Nadda and Rijiju to skip the BAC “deliberately.”
Justice Varma Cash-At-Home Case
On March 15, firefighters called to the Justice Varma bungalow in central Delhi discovered piles of burnt cash.
Justice Varma has denied any link to the cash, and labelled allegations of impropriety against him and members of his family “preposterous”.
The Supreme Court set up an in-house panel that recommended the impeachment of Justice Yashwant Varma. The report was forwarded to President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi – by then CJI Khanna.
