Impeachment motions & a Vice President's resignation | All you need to know about Jagdeep Dhankhar's exit

New Delhi: Less than 12 hours after he resigned, President Droupadi Murmu accepted the resignation of Jagdeep Dhankar as the Vice-President of India even as the Opposition sought to know the “deeper reasons” behind the dramatic turn of events Monday evening.

In a terse message posted on X, PM Modi acknowledged the outgoing chairman of the Rajya Sabha for getting “many opportunities to serve the country.” But sources say, Dhankar’s decision to receive the opposition motion for the impeachment of Allahabad HC Judge Justice Yashwant Varma Monday afternoon may have been the last straw that may have triggered the fast-paced political developments late in the evening.

Impeachment against Justice Varma

On Monday, the first day of the Monsoon Session, the government sought to bring in motions of impeachment against Varma, at whose house wads of cash were unearthed, in both Houses. While the government managed to bring in a consolidated motion in the Lok Sabha with over 152 signatures across parties, in the Rajya Sabha, Dhankhar allowed a motion moved by the Opposition.

“There were plans of two impeachment motions – one on Justice Varma and another on Allahabad High Court Judge Shekhar Yadav. While the VP allowed for a motion for the impeachment of Verma, the one on Yadav could not be admitted due to some errors with signatures,” a Cabinet minister said, on conditions of anonymity.

Heated words & resignation followed...

Sources said that when Dhankar allowed for a motion brought in by the Opposition, this left the government red-faced, and several ministers reached out to the Vice-President. One of the exchanges turned out to be heated, and Dhankar contended that it was well within the rules as well as his powers to do so.

Soon after, Dhankar made his way to Raisina Hills to submit his resignation to President Murmu. No prior appointment was sought with Rashtrapati Bhawan. Hours later, he tweeted that he was resigning, citing health reasons. Dhankar had a cardiac arrest a few months ago.

Opposition sees red in exit

Opposition leaders, who questioned the untimely exit, said that Dhankar did not show any sign of illness in his meetings of the Business Advisory Committee. Two meetings of the BAC were held on Monday, with the Opposition demanding that the prime minister give a reply after the discussion on Operation Sindoor. A first meeting was held at 12:30 pm, and in the absence of a consensus, another meeting was held at 4:30 pm.

One of the first indications that all was not well was the government representative and Leader of the House skipping the second BAC meeting. While union parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju and Leader of the House JP Nadda skipped the meeting, union minister of state for law and justice Arjun Meghwal and minister of state for parliamentary affairs L Murugan were present, as per one of the ministers present.

Asked to sign blank paper?

BJP sources said that Nadda and Rijiju could not attend the meeting due to some hectic party activity. As the BAC meeting carried on, more than 40 BJP MPs from the Rajya Sabha convened at the office of union defence minister Rajnath Singh to submit their signatures for the Varma impeachment notice. NDA leaders, including RLD’s Jayant Chaudhary, RPI leader Ramdas Athwale, as well as Shiv Sena MP Milind Deora, too, submitted their signatures. Some BJP MPs also said that the papers they signed were blank.

As speculations mounted that their absence triggered the chain of events, Nadda later told PTI, “The Vice President’s office was intimated about our inability to attend the meeting.”

While the flurry of events on Monday led to the resignation, sources said that Dhankhar was not getting along with the government on some issues, especially his crusade against the judiciary. His campaign for an institution like the NJAC made the government uncomfortable. His recent closeness to Opposition leaders, too, did not sit well with the government.

Dhankhar met Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge a week before the Monsoon session was to start, and a day before the Session, he met former Delhi CM and AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal.