Was health the real reason behind Dhankhar's sudden resignation?

The sudden resignation of Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar has sent political rumour mills into a tizzy. While the projected reason for the late-night quitting was his failing health, opposition parties and BJP watchers do not look fully convinced.

Following his resignation late on Monday, Dhankhar became the third VP to resign before the end of their tenures after VV Giri and Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, who quit to contest in the presidential race. But he was first against whom the opposition brought a no-trust motion in 2024 for 'a series of partisan rulings from the Rajya Sabha Chair'. They were piqued by Dhankhar's decision to allow BJP MPs to record speeches that alleged collusion between Congress MP Sonia Gandhi and businessman George Soros.

Congress, the main opposition party, said there were "far deeper reasons" for the resignation. Though the real reason is yet to be known, there are some indications on what transpired in the Rajya Sabha on Monday, the first day of the monsoon session.

In the Lok Sabha, 145 MPs, including those from the opposition, submitted a motion for the impeachment of Justice Yashwant Verma regarding the burnt cash found at his residence. In the Rajya Sabha, 63 MPs submitted the motion, however, it was signed only by the Opposition MPs.

“Sixty-three 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 of Rajya Sabha way back on December 13, 2024,” Congress MP and party general secretary in-charge of communications Jairam Ramesh had said.

Dhankhar admitted the motion and asked the secretary general to initiate the proceedings. However, it was known that only opposition MPs were signatory to the motion, there was a flurry of activity in the ruling party camp.

The opposition party leaders had met Dhankhar at around 6 pm. Three hours later, Dhankhar announced his resignation.

Taking to X, Ramesh said the resignation speaks highly of him. It also speaks poorly of those who had got him elected as Vice President in the first instance. "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," Ramesh posted on X.

"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.

"So something very serious happened yesterday between 1 pm and 4.30 pm to account for the deliberate absence of Shri Nadda and Shri Rijiju from the second BAC yesterday," he wrote.

Ramesh also noted that Dhankhar was a stickler for norms, proprieties, and protocol. "While always lauding post-2014 India, he spoke fearlessly for the welfare of farmers, forcefully against what he called ‘ahankar’ in public life, and strongly on judicial accountability and restraint. 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 wrote.

A Supreme Court lawyer by profession, Dhankhar was initiated into politics by Chaudhary Devi Lal, a prominent Jat politician who rose to become India's deputy PM from 1990 to 91.
He was elected to the Rajasthan assembly from Kishangarh and then to the Lok Sabha from Jhunjhunu seat. He joined the BJP in 2003 and served as in-charge of the party’s legal cell. He was made Bengal governor in 2019. After a three-year tenure during which his run-ins with Mamata Banerjee made headlines, he was tapped for the VP post.