Editorial: Dhankhar’s intriguing exit

Though Jagdeep Dhankhar cited health reasons for his sudden decision to quit, the circumstances leading to his exit point to far deeper issues

The timing of the Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar’s resignation — on the opening day of the Monsoon Session of Parliament — is intriguing and leaves several questions unanswered. While the septuagenarian leader cited health reasons for his sudden decision to quit, the circumstances leading to his exit point to far deeper issues. The development came as a major embarrassment to the NDA government at a time when it is gearing up to face an aggressive opposition during the Monsoon Session. Dhankhar’s conduct in the Upper House on the opening day of the session did not give any indication of an imminent storm. He announced his decision late in the night through the official X handle of the Vice President’s office. It is the first time in the country’s history that a Vice President, who is not in the presidential race, has quit the post mid-term. In the past, R Venkataraman, SD Sharma and KR Narayanan had resigned after being elected to the President’s post while VV Giri had quit to contest as an Independent candidate in the presidential election. Bhairon Singh Shekawat had stepped down on moral grounds after losing to Pratibha Patil in the presidential election. It is fair to assume that a brewing friction with the government could have prompted Dhankhar to quit, though he still has two more years left in his term. Since the resignation, addressed to President Droupadi Murmu, was with immediate effect, it is unlikely that Dhankhar will be available for the remaining period of the Monsoon Session.

While the opposition leaders speculated about the reasons for his resignation, there was no immediate reaction from the government. Speculation in political circles is that the government was peeved over Dhankhar’s decision to allow an opposition-sponsored notice in the Rajya Sabha for a motion to remove Justice Yashwant Varma, a former judge of the Delhi High Court who was at the centre of a controversy following recovery of massive unaccounted cash at his residence in Delhi. When Rajya Sabha met for the Monsoon Session on Monday, the Opposition MPs moved the notice and Dhankhar, as Chairman of the Upper House, immediately accepted it and asked the House’s secretary general to take the necessary steps. This move apparently did not go down well with the Centre. It is felt in the ruling party circles that the Vice President’s acceptance of the opposition-backed notice robbed the government of the chance to lead the offensive against the judge and corruption in the judiciary. At a time when the government was trying to build a consensus to move the motion in the Lok Sabha, Dhankhar’s decision to accept a notice was seen as a setback to the government. During his stint as Vice President, he spoke in support of the farmers protesting against the farm laws.

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