The monsoon session of Parliament commenced, and on the first day itself, the opposition, especially Congress, knocked the ruling party off balance. Just as the government was gearing up to present a proposal for the removal of Justice Yashwant Verma in the Lok Sabha, the opposition met with Jagdeep Dhankhar and presented it in the Rajya Sabha. Dhankhar informed the house about receiving notices from opposition MPs, leading to a situation so escalated that Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar resigned by late evening.
Jagdeep Dhankhar announced his resignation from the post of Vice President on Monday night around 9:30 PM, shocking everyone. Dhankhar stated health issues as the reason for his resignation. President Droupadi Murmu accepted Jagdeep Dhankhar's resignation from the Vice President post on Tuesday. While Dhankhar cited his health as the reason for his resignation, is that all there is to it?
To understand Dhankhar's resignation, one must look back at the timeline of the first day's proceedings of the monsoon session and the meetings that occurred. As soon as the session started in the Rajya Sabha, Dhankhar extended birthday wishes to the opposition leader in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, paid tribute to deceased MPs, and administered the oath to five new MPs. Then, around 2:15 PM, Congress's Rajya Sabha MPs Jairam Ramesh and Nasir Hussain met with Jagdeep Dhankhar in his office, leading to his resignation as Vice President.
The government was blindsided by the opposition's maneuver
The Modi government had planned to present an impeachment proposal against Justice Verma in both houses of Parliament, having even discussed the plan with the opposition. Jagdeep Dhankhar had long been vocal about issues with the judiciary and had openly advocated for strict action against Justice Yashwant Verma. As both Vice President and a lawyer, Dhankhar aspired to be the face of action against Justice Verma. Understanding this, Congress strategically weaved its political web with party MPs Jairam Ramesh and Nasir Hussain at the helm.
Jairam Ramesh and Nasir Hussain had secured signatures from over 50 opposition Rajya Sabha MPs for a proposal to remove Justice Verma. Congress managed to present this proposal in the Rajya Sabha without alerting BJP. Jairam and Nasir approached Jagdeep Dhankhar's office around 2:15 PM on Monday with the proposal signed by 63 opposition MPs and handed it to his personal secretary.
Dhankhar informed the House
As the government was gearing up for impeachment against Yashwant Verma, the opposition handed the proposal to Jagdeep Dhankhar. Following this, Dhankhar informed the house about the notice received from opposition MPs. He explained the process of the notice and asked the law minister to confirm whether a similar notice had been submitted in the lower house, Lok Sabha. Significantly, he also announced that he had examined the notice given for an impeachment proposal against Justice Shekhar Yadav and found that one opposition MP had signed it twice.
Aiming for impeachment credit
Dhankhar further stated that he was in the process of certifying the remaining signatures and would inform the house once complete. Interestingly, Jagdeep Dhankhar made this announcement even before Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla could declare the government's impeachment proposal. However, when Jagdeep Dhankhar addressed the opposition's proposal during the BAC meeting and accepted it, the government was taken aback. Dhankhar indicated that proceedings should commence against Justice Yashwant Verma in the Rajya Sabha the next day at 1 PM, effectively snatching the credit from the Modi government. While the government was preparing to submit signatures of MPs from the ruling party and opposition to the Lok Sabha Speaker, the Rajya Sabha had already taken notice.
BJP discontent with Dhankhar's attitude
JP Nadda and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju did not attend the Business Advisory Committee meeting. When the chairman inquired about their absence, BJP MP L Murugan explained that he had been informed they couldn't attend. According to sources, the chairman, Dhankhar, was upset about this. He questioned Murugan why both leaders failed to inform him of their non-attendance.
Moreover, the government's displeasure with Jagdeep Dhankhar resulted from his acceptance of the opposition's proposal notice. The final reason for Dhankhar's resignation from the Vice President post was a telephone conversation with a senior minister on Monday evening, during which he was questioned why he accepted the impeachment proposal from over 63 opposition MPs against Justice Verma. In response, Dhankhar cited his constitutional authority as Chairman of the Rajya Sabha to accept the notice.
Did Dhankhar fall into Congress's trap?
Last December, Congress brought a no-confidence motion to remove Jagdeep Dhankhar from the Vice President's post. Jairam Ramesh stated that all India alliance parties had no choice but to formally submit a no-confidence motion against the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha due to their perception of biased operations in the house's proceedings. Although a difficult decision, Ramesh expressed the necessity of taking this step for the interest of parliamentary democracy. Now, Congress found Dhankhar favorable because he accepted the opposition's proposal before the government.
Jairam Ramesh noted that Jagdeep Dhankhar was highly conscious of norms, decorum, and rules, feeling that these were continuously violated during his tenure. While Dhankhar consistently praised post-2014 India, he also vocally supported farmers' interests. He criticized growing arrogance in public life and stressed the need for judicial accountability and restraint. He tried to accommodate the opposition wherever possible.
In fact, since March, Jagdeep Dhankhar had been attempting to build relations with the opposition to demonstrate his neutrality as Chairman of the Rajya Sabha. He continuously engaged with Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress's Jairam Ramesh, and Congress Rajya Sabha MP Pramod Tiwari. Now, Ramesh and Tiwari question Dhankhar's sudden resignation and urge the government to persuade him to withdraw his resignation.
Dhankhar's relationship with the government souring
Jagdeep Dhankhar became India's Vice President in 2022 and remained in the limelight since. Following the Justice Yashwant Verma case, Dhankhar rallied for reinstating institutions like NJAC. However, the government was clearly not in the mood to upset the judiciary with steps akin to NJAC. Union Home Minister Amit Shah recently stated on a channel's program that the government had no such proposal. Nevertheless, Jagdeep Dhankhar continued to make public declarations on the matter.
Dhankhar repeatedly criticized the lack of an FIR against Justice Yashwant Verma, actions well beyond his jurisdiction as Vice President. His political stance displeased the government. Consequently, Dhankhar attempted to amend his partisan image, a move Jairam Ramesh capitalized on, encouraging the proposal against Justice Yashwant Verma. Ramesh successfully convinced Dhankhar that initiating impeachment in the Rajya Sabha over the Lok Sabha would bring him credit. It is believed that this Congress maneuver led Dhankhar to lose his post as Vice President.
