Raising questions over Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar’s “shocking” announcement, the Congress said on Monday night that there was “more to his totally unexpected resignation than meets the eye”. The Opposition party said Dhankhar had scheduled a meeting of the Business Advisory Committee for Tuesday afternoon, and was also supposed to make “major announcements related to the judiciary”.
“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. No doubt … (he) has to give topmost priority to his health. But clearly there is far more to his totally unexpected resignation than meets the eye. This is not the time for speculation though,” Jairam Ramesh, Congress general secretary in-charge communications, said in a post on X.
“He had fixed a meeting of the Business Advisory Committee tomorrow at 1 pm. He was also to make some major announcements related to the judiciary tomorrow. We wish him the best of health but also request him to reconsider his decision. We also expect the Prime Minister to get… (Dhankhar) to change his mind. This will be in the nation’s interest. The farming community particularly will be greatly relieved,” he said.
Congress Lok Sabha member Imran Masood asked “what happened in just one hour that he had to resign”. “We pray that the Almighty give him a long and healthy life. I am not able to understand the reason,” said Masood.
“Two and two don’t always make four. In politics, not everything is straight. There are some things. There are the Bihar elections. You can think… Tomorrow will bring answers. He could have resigned in the day, but it seems he was under pressure or it was as per planning,” said Congress MP Sukhdeo Bhagat.
Samajwadi Party Rajya Sabha member Javed Ali Khan said he had seen the V-P in the House and “he seemed fine”. “Today, it didn’t seem like there is a health issue, but if there is any issue, we pray to God he stays healthy. Things will become clear soon,” he said.
CPI(M) Rajya Sabha member John Brittas said he was “disturbed by the news of reasons beyond his health for the resignation”. “The entire House was working with him — even today. It is shocking that he has resigned,” said Brittas.
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RJD MP Sudhakar Singh said Dhankhar “looked healthy” while presiding over the proceedings in Rajya Sabha during the day. “There is no truth to this. Within the BJP and the government, this is a time of Constitutional crisis… I believe this is political distress. The truth will come out tomorrow. His health does not seem to be the reason. If he is unwell, we wish him well,” said Singh.
Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram noted that Dhankhar has resigned citing “medical reasons”, and wished him good health and a long life.
Rajya Sabha member Kapil Sibal said that he would not want to “speculate” on the reasons for the resignation. “He has said that it is because of health reasons. So, I don’t want to speculate. I can say that he was one of the most proactive Rajya Sabha Chairmen that we have seen over the years. He would always persuade members on both sides to work together,” he said.
CPI MP P Sandosh Kumar said the development was quite unexpected and “we don’t know what the reasons are”. “I don’t think that the President of India will accept it. This might be an initial reaction from his side. He might be dissatisfied with some developments,” Kumar said.
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“The news of the Vice President resigning due to health reasons is concerning. We sincerely pray for his well-being. However, a question arises, today marked the first day of the Monsoon Session, and his resignation on the same day raises eyebrows… What is going on in this government? This decision came without proper consultation or discussion. If health was the concern, the resignation could have been submitted a few days before the session or even after,” Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Anand Dubey said.
The Opposition has had several run-ins with Dhankhar in the past, often over his conduct as Chairman of the Rajya Sabha. So much so that the Opposition parties had, in December last year, made an unprecedented move of bringing a no-confidence motion against the Vice President, accusing him of “partisan conduct” in the Upper House.
In their notice, the Opposition had alleged that Dhankhar had taken it upon himself to be an “impassioned spokesperson” of the government’s policies in public forums. They had alleged that he was “explicitly partisan” and conducted the proceedings of the Rajya Sabha in an “extremely biased manner”.
The Opposition also had, on several occasions, accused him of interrupting their members when they attempted to speak. In their notice, they had accused Dhankhar of repeatedly making disparaging comments about MPs belonging to Opposition parties publicly and criticising them when they expressed issues with the functioning of the government. —With PTI inputs
