Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, who is stepping down, has once again agreed to the opposition's demands. Despite being somewhat delayed, he has finally addressed the requests of opposition MPs that have persisted since the previous year. In December, 60 MPs from the 'India Alliance' sought Dhankhar's removal, submitting a motion notice that accused him of showing a 'noticeably biased attitude and behaving inappropriately towards opposition members'.
Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh dismissed the notice, claiming it was hastily presented and aimed at damaging the Vice President's reputation. Months later, the opposition that once called for his resignation is now backing him. Dhankhar, who previously refused to step down, has now resigned, citing health reasons, as the opposition had anticipated last year. His swift resignation has caught everyone off guard. The opposition, which had previously criticized him, is now commending him as a farmer's son.
The turn of events in this whole incident is very interesting. Congress' Jairam Ramesh said that Dhankhar should withdraw his resignation in 'national interest'. This is the same Ramesh who had earlier alleged that Dhankhar behaves 'like a government propagandist' and not like an impartial mediator. He was also among those who led the no-confidence motion brought by the opposition but now Ramesh is praising his fearlessness. Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge has also given a statement in support of Dhankhar. This is the same Kharge who has accused him of preventing him from speaking in Parliament many times.
As Vice President, Jagdeep Dhankhar was also the ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha. This is the second time that outgoing Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar has agreed to the opposition's demand. Although it was delayed by a few months, he finally took the step that the opposition MPs were constantly demanding. In December 2023, 60 MPs of the 'India Alliance' gave a notice of a motion demanding the removal of Vice President Dhankhar from his post. The opposition alleged that Dhankhar had 'openly adopted a partisan attitude and discriminated against opposition MPs.' Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh rejected this notice. He said that this proposal has been brought in a hurry and is an attempt to tarnish the image of the Vice President.
Jagdeep Dhankhar took over as the Vice President in August 2022. He resigned from his post two years before the scheduled time. His term was to end in the year 2027. The equations that are visible today between Dhankhar and the opposition have been formed recently. Before his resignation, he had a confrontational relationship with the opposition. Trinamool MP Kalyan Banerjee had targeted him by imitating him from the stage, and also commented on his expensive suit that he 'wears suits worth lakhs.'
SP MP Jaya Bachchan had a debate with Dhankhar when she objected to the 'unacceptable tone' of his voice in the House. About a year ago, he thundered in the House and said, 'I want an apology.' Apart from this, he also alleged that when Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge stood up to speak, the Vice President got his mic turned off. Now the picture has changed. According to reports, Dhankhar was forced to step down due to supporting the opposition in the context of the impeachment motion of Justice Yashwant Verma. It is noteworthy that Allahabad High Court Judge Yashwant Verma has been accused of corruption after a huge amount of cash was recovered from his official residence.
The government had initiated the impeachment process against him in the Lok Sabha and 153 MPs had signed in favour of the motion. Similarly, 63 MPs in the Rajya Sabha sent a notice to the Vice President. It is worth noting that all the signatories in the Rajya Sabha were from opposition parties. So the question arises that why did the BJP MPs of Rajya Sabha stay out of this process? The answer is clear that they were not even aware of the notice given in the Rajya Sabha. This development not only disrupts the government's action in the Lok Sabha, but also weakens the moral edge of the government on the issue of corruption.
Government sources say that the government wanted to remove Justice Yashwant Verma on the basis of consensus. Under this, 145 MPs supported the impeachment motion in the Lok Sabha as against the 100 signatures required, which also included members of the opposition, but according to experts, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar hurriedly informed the Rajya Sabha that the notice to remove Justice Verma has been received, this happened at a time when Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla had not given any formal information about this to the lower house. It was during the tenure of the Modi government that he got unprecedented power and respect from the Raj Bhavan to the post of Vice President. In such a situation, it does not seem logical for him to take action against his own political patron. Also, after reaching the highest post of Vice President, he did not have any political advantage to stand with the opposition.
Another view is that Dhankhar's resignation may be part of the plan to make Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar the Vice President. This possibility cannot be completely ruled out, but the haste with which Dhankhar resigned or was forced to resign is contrary to the working style of the BJP government.
The government neither takes any decision in a hurry, nor slips like this. If Dhankhar really had to be removed and Nitish Kumar had to be given a place, then this resignation could have happened before the monsoon session of Parliament and not in a situation of being in the post in the morning and out in the afternoon. Apart from this, there was no need for the government to put itself in such a dilemma where it has to face such questions for which it does not have clear answers. As events are coming to light, the real issue is not Dhankhar's departure but the speed with which it all happened is what has shocked everyone.