Jagdeep Dhankhar's resignation: What happened between 1pm and 4:30pm? Ex-VP's sudden exit fuels speculations about 'other' reasons
NEW DELHI: Jagdeep Dhankhar's sudden resignation as Vice President citing health reasons with two years remaining in his five-year term, has sparked intense speculation and conspiracy theories.
Dhankhar is only the third Vice President to resign before completing his term, after V.V. Giri and R. Venkataraman. His unexpected exit on the first day of Parliament's Monsoon Session has left political observers searching for deeper explanations beyond "health reasons".
What happened in 3 hours?
The timeline of events on Dhankhar's final day in office has become a subject of particular scrutiny. The opposition's skepticism was further fueled by the fact that Dhankhar had shown no signs of health concerns during his morning interactions with senior leaders.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh highlighted sequence of events, suggesting that "something very serious" must have transpired between 1pm to 4:30pm.
"Yesterday, Shri Jagdeep Dhankar chaired the Business Advisory Committee of the Rajya Sabha at 12:30 PM. It was attended by most members, including Leader of the House JP Nadda and the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs
Kiren Rijiju
. After some discussion, the BAC decided to meet again at 4:30 PM," he said.
"At 4:30 PM, the BAC reassembled under the chairmanship of Shri Jagdeep Dhankar. It waited for Shri Nadda and Shri Rijiju to arrive. They never came. Shri Jagdeep Dhankar was not personally informed that the two senior Ministers were not attending. Rightly, he took umbrage and rescheduled the BAC for today (July 22) at 1 PM," the Congress leader said in the post.
"So 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 yesterday," he added.
The Justice Varma link
Adding another layer to the intrigue was Dhankhar's final official act – allowing the submission of a motion for the removal of Justice Yashwant Varma of the Allahabad high court. This unprecedented move gave him equal authority as the Lok Sabha Speaker in selecting members for the judicial inquiry panel. The timing was particularly noteworthy as it came just a day after the government had announced that the Lok Sabha would initiate proceedings against the HC judge.
Dhankhar has been very vocal about his criticism over judiciary. From calling the Supreme Court's use of Article 142 a 'nuclear missile against democratic forces' to openly criticizing the collegium system and commenting on alleged cash recovered from Justice Varma's residence, his rhetoric was viewed as controversial.
The governing party had also seemed surprised when he allowed LoP in RS Mallikarjun Kharge to speak at length on the alleged security lapse that enabled the terrorists at Pahalgam to conduct their deadly carnage and US President Donald Trump's claims to have dragged India to the negotiation table during Operation Sindoor.
Sources say treasury benches felt that as the chairman, Dhankhar should have allowed Kharge to have his say only during the debate that is set to happen.
The 'Nitish theory'
Adding fuel to the speculative fire, Bihar's RJD alleged that Dhankhar's resignation was part of a BJP ploy to edge out Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar.
RJD's Akhtarul Islam Shahin claimed it was a conspiracy to "shunt Nitish Kumar to the politically insignificant post of Vice President" ahead of the upcoming assembly elections.
While this theory has been brushed aside by NDA leaders in Bihar, Dhankhar's exit is being interpreted not just in Delhi but also in poll-bound Bihar as a potentially strategic political recalibration.
What BJP said
The BJP has moved to counter opposition narratives about the resignation. JP Nadda addressed the controversy surrounding the missed BAC meeting, stating that both he and Rijiju had properly informed the Vice President's office about their inability to attend the afternoon session.
"The Vice President's office was intimated about our inability to attend the meeting," said Nadda, the Union health minister and BJP president, when asked about Ramesh's claims.
What next?
While the Constitution mandates that a Presidential vacancy must be filled within six months, there is no specific timeframe for filling a Vice-Presidential vacancy. The only constitutional requirement is that the election should be conducted "as soon as practicable" after the position becomes vacant. The Election Commission will determine and announce the election schedule, which will be conducted according to the Presidential and Vice-Presidential Elections Act, 1952.
Following established practice, the Secretary General of either the Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha is appointed as the Returning Officer on a rotational basis.
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