'Impeachment motion against judges was the last straw?': Congress points at 'far deeper reasons' for Dhankhar's resignation

New Delhi: The Congress on Tuesday claimed the reasons behind Jagdeep Dhankhar's resignation as vice president are "far deeper" than health issues cited by him, and that his resignation speaks highly of him but poorly of those who got him elected to the post.

Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh also raised questions over the absence of Union ministers J P Nadda and Kiren Rijiju from the second Business Advisory Committee on Monday, saying "something very serious" happened between 1 pm and 4.30 pm on Monday to account for their deliberate absence from the second BAC.

Congress Rajya Sabha MP Vivek Tankha said Dhankhar's resignation was quite unexpected.

"While presiding over Rajya Sabha yesterday he was his good jolly self!! Did the way he proactively handled the 2 impeachment motions (Justice Yadav & Verma) yesterday the last straw!!" he said on X.

Ramesh pointed out that Dhankhar chaired the BAC of the Rajya Sabha at 12.30 pm on Monday.

"It was attended by most members, including Leader of the House J P Nadda and the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Kiren Rijiju. After some discussion, the BAC decided to meet again at 4:30 PM," he said in a post on X.

At 4.30 pm, the BAC reassembled under the chairmanship of Dhankhar, the Congress leader said.

"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," Ramesh claimed.

So "something very serious" happened yesterday between 1 pm and 4.30 pm to account for the deliberate absence of Nadda and Rijiju from the second BAC yesterday, he said in a post on Tuesday.

"Now in a truly unprecedented move, Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar has resigned. He has given health reasons for doing so. Those should be respected. But it is also a fact that there are far deeper reasons for his resignation," Ramesh claimed.

While always lauding the post-2014 India, he spoke fearlessly for the welfare of farmers, forcefully against what he called 'ahankar (arrogance)' in public life, and strongly on judicial accountability and restraint, Ramesh said.

"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 said.

"Jagdeep Dhankar's resignation speaks highly of him. It also speaks poorly of those who had got him elected as Vice President in the first instance," he said.

The opposition on Monday raised questions over Dhankhar's sudden resignation as the vice president, with the Congress saying that clearly, there is "far more to his totally unexpected resignation than meets the eye".

The Congress has also urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to convince Dhankhar to change his mind.

In a sudden move, Dhankhar resigned from his post on Monday evening, citing medical reasons. He sent his resignation to President Droupadi Murmu and said he is stepping down with immediate effect.

"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," Ramesh said in a post on X on Monday night.

"No doubt Mr Dhankhar has to give topmost priority to his health. But clearly there is far more to his totally unexpected resignation than meets the eye," he had said. This is not the time for speculation though, Ramesh added.

Dhankhar took both the government and the opposition to task in equal measure, he said.

"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," Ramesh had said.

"We wish him the best of health but also request him to reconsider his decision. We also expect the Prime Minister to get Mr Dhankhar to change his mind. This will be in the nation's interest," the Congress leader had said.

The farming community, in particular, will be greatly relieved if Dhankhar changed his mind, he added.

Dhankhar, 74, assumed office in August 2022 and his tenure was till 2027.

He was also the chairman of the Rajya Sabha and his resignation came on the first day of the Monsoon session of Parliament.

Dhankhar recently underwent angioplasty at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi.

In his eventful tenure as Rajya Sabha chairman, Dhankhar had several run-ins with the opposition, which had also moved a motion to impeach him.

The motion, the first ever in independent India to remove a vice president, was later rejected by Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh.