PM Modi wishes good health to Jagdeep Dhankhar following his resignation as Vice President on medical grounds
extended his
best wishes
for good health to
Jagdeep Dhankhar
on Tuesday, noting the numerous opportunities Dhankhar has had to serve India in various important roles, including as the Vice President of the country.
The prime minister's message comes in response to Dhankhar's sudden resignation from the post of
Vice President of India
a day earlier. The lawyer-turned-politician citied
health concerns
and medical advice as the reasons for stepping down in his letter to President Droupadi Murmu.
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"Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar Ji has got many opportunities to serve our country in various capacities, including as the Vice President of India. Wishing him good health," Modi wrote in a post on X.
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The move has mostly faced backlash from the Opposition parties who have questioned the timing and motive of the decision, especially on the same day as the Parliament's stormy Monsoon Session.
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"To prioritise health care and abide by medical advice, I hereby resign as the Vice President of India, effective immediately, in accordance with Article 67(a) of the Constitution," the 14th VP of India wrote in his letter to President Murmu.
"I am deeply thankful for the invaluable experiences and insights I have gained as Vice President in our great democracy. It has been a privilege and satisfaction to witness and partake in India's remarkable economic progress and unprecedented exponential development during this significant period. Serving in this transformative era of our nation's history has been a true honor," the Dhankar added.
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While the Hindusthan Free State Act and the Socialist Party draft leaned towards a strong centralised authority to preserve national unity or effect economic restructuring, Roy's and the Gandhian drafts were deeply committed to decentralised governance, albeit in different ways — Roy through institutional federalism and democratic oversight, and Gandhi through autonomous village self-rule grounded in moral authority. Economically, the spectrum ranged from the minimalist and agrarian Gandhian model, to Roy's emphasis on democratic economic planning, to the Socialist Party's full-fledged state socialism. The Hindusthan Free State draft, while largely silent on economic redistribution, offered a more complex picture than often presumed — it prioritised national cohesion but enshrined specific liberal protections around religious freedom and equality. Meanwhile, the 1895 Bill reflected an absence of economic radicalism, concerned primarily with civil liberties and political representation. Cultural and identity politics also played out markedly differently. The Hindusthan Free State draft projected a homogenised, majoritarian cultural identity, in contrast to the pluralistic and secular ethos implicit in Roy's draft and the Socialist Party's vision. The Gandhian model, while rooted in Indian traditions, emphasised unity through moral and communal harmony rather than cultural uniformity. On civil liberties, the 1895 Bill and Roy's draft were strongest, both incorporating detailed rights frameworks. The Socialist Party draft prioritised economic rights over political ones, whereas the Gandhian draft focused more on duties and community values than on formal rights. The Hindusthan Free State draft, while ideologically nationalist, nevertheless provided robust constitutional guarantees for religious freedom and non-discrimination, challenging the assumption that it was devoid of liberal principles. In all, these constitutional drafts capture a vibrant pre-independence debate on the nature of the Indian state, reflecting ideological diversity and differing assumptions about governance, society, and citizenship. Though none of these drafts were adopted wholesale, elements from each filtered into the 1950 Constitution. Roy's ideas on decentralisation and rights, the Gandhian notion of panchayati raj, the Socialist commitment to economic justice, and even the legalistic structure of the 1895 Bill all left their mark. Their greatest contribution, however, may lie in showcasing the democratic imagination at play even before the republic was born — a testament to India's rich constitutional legacy and the multitude of futures it once contemplated.
