Vice President's exit: Govt was likely riled after Opposition’s RS move

New Delhi: The surprising turn of events on the first day of the Monsoon Session that saw Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar announcing his resignation on Monday night, citing health reasons, culminated with President Droupadi Murmu accepting his resignation letter on Tuesday morning, even as the Opposition sought to know the “deeper reasons” behind Dhankhar’s decision.  

At noon, the Rajya Sabha was informed of the Ministry of Home Affairs’ notification regarding the V-P’s resignation with immediate effect. Later in the day, Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh, who would be presiding over the House till the election of the new V-P, made a courtesy call on President Murmu, indicating the interim change of guard in the Council of States.

The terse message posted on X by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, acknowledging the outgoing chairman of the Rajya Sabha for getting “many opportunities to serve the country”, added to speculations on what the Opposition calls a “truly unprecedented move”.

Sources indicate Dhankhar’s decision on Monday to accept an Opposition notice on the impeachment of Justice Yashwant Varma, the high court Judge embroiled in a controversy over the recovery cash at his residence, seems to have riled the treasury benches.

The ruling party wanted to pilot this motion in the Lok Sabha and get it passed with “consensus”. 

Hours after Dhankhar accepted the Opposition’s notice, senior ministers went into a huddle with the BJP’s RS MPs, creating a perception that the government was contemplating a move against the chairperson.

The sequence of events is broadly as follows: Monday afternoon, senior Opposition floor manager met RS chairman and submitted a notice signed by 63 Opposition MPs to impeach Justice Yashwant Varma.

At 4.07 pm, Dhankhar, while presiding over the House, announced having received a notice of impeachment motion that “meets the numerical requirement”. He also asked the RS secretary general to find out if a similar motion has been received in the Lok Sabha as well, for then, as per the Judges Enquiry Act, the committee to investigate the allegations against the judge would have to be jointly constituted by the two Houses.

The chair also mentioned that the Opposition notice on the impeachment of Allahabad HC Judge Justice Shekhar Yadav was being examined.

Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, who was present in the House, confirmed an impeachment notice with requisite signatories had indeed been presented before the Lok Sabha Speaker.

At 4.30 pm, when the RS Business Advisory Committee, chaired by Dhankhar, met, senior ministers JP Nadda and Kiran Rijiju were conspicuously absent. Hence, the meeting was postponed to Tuesday.

“Something very serious happened yesterday between 1 pm and 4.30 pm to account for the deliberate absence of Shri Nadda and Shri Rijiju from the second BAC,” senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh wrote on X.

Nadda, while speaking to media on Tuesday in Parliament, clarified “the Vice President’s office was intimated about our inability to attend the meeting.”  

Sources told DH that when BJP MPs came out of the Rajya Sabha at 4.36 pm after the House was adjourned for the day, they received a message on their mobile phones to “rush” to a senior minister’s chamber where signatures were being taken. Though the purpose of the entire exercise or the contents of the proposed motion are not clear, the MPs were told they would be further briefed on the matter by senior ministers in small groups later in the evening.

Those meetings never happened as the Vice President, citing health reasons, posted his resignation on X at 9.25 pm.

Before the V-P left for the Rashtrapati Bhavan to tender his resignation, senior government managers in a phone call articulated their concerns on the decision taken by him on the Opposition-sponsored impeachment motion against Justice Varma.