Questions abound over Vice President Dhankhar’s sudden resignation

New Delhi: At 3:53 pm on Monday, the Press Information Bureau (PIB) said Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar will be on a one day visit to Jaipur on July 23 where he will interact with the newly elected committee members of Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Association of India (CREDAI) at Rambagh Palace.

He had also fixed a meeting of Rajya Sabha's Business Advisory Committee on Tuesday at 1pm. But at 9:25 pm, the Vice President of India's official 'X' handle posted his resignation from the second-highest Constitutional post.

Before dramatically announcing his resignation citing health concerns, Dhankhar chaired the proceedings for 62 minutes in Rajya Sabha, administered oath to five new MPs, held a meeting of the Business Advisory Committee and met Opposition MPs who submitted an impeachment notice against Allahabad High Court judge Justice Yashwant Varma.

While the 74-year-old maverick lawyer-turned-politician has cited health reasons for his resignation, which might have been submitted to President Droupadi Murmu after 5pm several questions remain unanswered, especially as it came on then day when Parliament's Monsoon Session started.

Why Dhankhar waited till the start of Monsoon Session is still unanswered as he had the opportunity to take the call before was the refrain of a few leaders, when asked about the development. They also pointed to Dhankhar actively participating in the proceedings and speaking for almost 45 minutes in Rajya Sabha continuously reading out obituaries and other resolutions.

While he presided the Rajya Sabha for 50 minutes before adjourning the House during Zero Hour till 12 noon following Opposition uproar, he returned to the House in the evening to announce receiving an impeachment notice by Opposition MPs against Justice Varma.

Calling the resignation "shocking as it is inexplicable", Congress Rajya Sabha Chief Whip Jairam Ramesh said he was with Dhankhar alongside a number of other MPs till around 5 PM and had spoken to him over the phone at 7:30 PM.

“No doubt Dhankhar has to give topmost priority to his health. But clearly there is far more to his totally unexpected resignation than meets the eye. This is not the time for speculation though...He was also to make some major announcements related to the judiciary tomorrow,” Ramesh said.

While Ramesh did not spell out Dhankhar's possible announcement, there is speculation that it was about admitting an impeachment notice against another Allahabad High Court judge Justice Shekhar Yadav, who is accused of making “communal remarks”.

Some other leaders felt that Dhankhar accepting the Opposition-sponsored impeachment notice against Justice Varma could also be a reason, as it came as a jolt to the government.