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India Today
15 hours ago
- Politics
- India Today
The Heart of the Matter: The Real Story Behind Jagdeep Dhankhar's Resignation
It was a muggy Monday in Delhi, the kind where the air feels like a wet blanket and tempers in the Rajya Sabha run hot as a tandoor. Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar, the man with the gravitas and the serendipitas, is perched in his chair, presiding over the upper house with the patience of a saint and the wit of a seasoned stand-up is bantering with the treasury benches, throwing shade at the Opposition, adjourning proceedings when the decibel levels hit fish market territory, and calling everyone back when they've had enough time to sip their adrak-wali another day in the life of India's Vice-President, no? No. By 10 pm, the Rashtrapati Bhavan drops a bombshell: Dhankhar has resigned. Health grounds. And just like that, the great Indian political circus lights up with speculation like it's Diwali. Now, let's get one thing straight. In India, resigning from a high-power post like the Vice-President's on "health grounds" is about as believable as Mithun Chakraborty dodging AK47 bullets in Gunda. Power is panacea! People do not resign from powerful positions citing health reasons because the posts guarantee top-notch medical care, AIIMS on speed dial, and government-funded trips to the best hospitals abroad. Why would anyone give that up?Political analysts are scratching their heads, pundits are pontificating, and X is ablaze with theories wilder than Yogendra Yadav's socialist fantasies. Some whisper that Dhankhar was nudged out to avoid a full-blown clash with the judiciary, given his tirades against their "overreach".Others swear he was cosying up to the Opposition, much to the BJP's chagrin. And then there's the classic: "Sources say...", followed by a buffet of names for the next Veep, each more speculative than the last. From Nitish Kumar to Shashi Tharoor to Justice Chandrachud, media is orgiastically throwing up names every hour. Who has time for delayed gratification?But here's what truly Dhankhar, the man who could out-talk a TV anchor, has been battling a dodgy ticker for a while. A heart ailment, the kind that makes doctors furrow their brows and scribble prescriptions before you can say "bypass". He has been in and out of AIIMS's cardio-thoracic department, and infamously fainted while at the Lieutenant Governor's. The man literally keeled over personal doctors have been sounding the alarm for months: "Sir, you need treatment abroad. Like, yesterday." The AIIMS crew, not ones to mince words, told him to ditch the hectic schedule and avoid exertion. Running the Rajya Sabha is not exertion; it is a cardiac event in Rajya Sabha, for the uninitiated, is increasingly becoming a pressure cooker of chaos. Every session is a high-decibel soap opera. MPs shout, scream, and storm the well with Dhankhar waving his invisible baton to no effect. The man's vocal, fearless, and loves a good controversy, all qualities that make him a stress magnet. Every furious speech and ensuing interruptions is enough to spike anyone's blood pressure, let alone a man with a history of heart Sudesh Dhankhar, his wife of nearly half a century, the real MVP of this story. She has been on his case for months, begging him to step back. "This job will kill you before the Opposition does," has been a constant refrain. He has been promising that he would take it Monday, Mrs Dhankhar was watching the proceedings live. She saw his face contracted a couple of times and eyelids drooped as he tried to calm the house down. She saw that he couldn't take it easy even if he tried to. And that "trying to" is the single-biggest risk by a team of doctors wielding CT scans and ultimatums, she arrived at his chambers and laid down the law: "It's today or never."advertisementImagine the scene: Dhankhar, the man who's faced down Mamata Banerjee without flinching, staring into the eyes of his wife and a posse of one, he couldn't win. So, he said, "Okay". And just like that, the resignation letter was signed, sealed, and sent to the Rashtrapati Bhavan. It was a man listening to his heart. Literally and figuratively, because his wife and doctors gave him no a story of love, health, and a reluctant surrender to mortality. The entire BJP leadership was in shock and have still not figured out how to react. A disappointed Prime Minister just posted a half-assed tweet wishing him good health. The others have yet real story behind the Veep's resignation that you just read is all made-up, just a theory like the theories you have heard or read in the last two days. But this one at least has written proof. The resignation letter signed by Mr Dhankhar. Why is your theory more believable than mine? One may have more grains of truth than others but none is smooth for the next VP are being showered like petals on kanwar yatra. Everyone from retired bureaucrats to BJP loyalists to dark-horse candidates nobody's heard of. Everyone claims "exclusive info" from "reliable sources", and every news channel has a panel as many names as the windows on the screen. Speculation is our national sport and patience is as rare as a quiet day in Parliament. Why wait for the vice-presidential election when you can churn out a hundred hot takes in a single tweet?Here's the kicker. Amid all this noise, the truth is quieter, simpler. So, maybe, just maybe, we can hold off on crowning the next VP. Let's wait for the election. Delayed gratification might not be in fashion, but it's a lot less stressful than this endless circus. Stress is the real heartbreaker. Ask Mr Dhankhar.(Kamlesh Singh, a columnist and satirist, is Tau of the popular Teen Taal podcast)- Ends(Views expressed in this piece are those of the author)Tune InMust Watch
The Wire
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Wire
Six Maoists Including Battalion One Chief Shot Dead in Bastar Ahead of Martyrdom Week
Hyderabad: After a brief lull in their gun battle, the police shot dead six Maoists, including four women, on Friday (July 18) in an alleged encounter close to where party supremo Nambala Kesava Rao fell to their bullets in Abhujmad forest of Narayanpur district in Chhattisgarh on May 21. Thursday's encounter, which claimed the lives of six members of the dreaded Battalion One of People's Liberation Guerilla Army, the most dangerous unit of CPI (Maoist), dealt another deadly blow to the party. It took place after uneasy calm in the contiguous forest of Chhattisgarh since the previous one on June 7, when seven comrades, including a Central Committee member Sudhakar and two Telangana State committee members Bhaskar and Bandi Prakash, were shot down. It was more than 24 hours after the encounter that the police declared the identity of the slain Maoists on Saturday evening. The Inspector General of Police of Bastar region, Sundarraj P, issued a press release saying the slain Maoists were identified as Rahul Punem alias Latchu Punem, commander of Battalion One of PLGA and a Bastar Divisional Committee member, and PLGA members Ungi Tati, Manisha, Tati Meena alias Choti, Harish and Kudam Budhri. An AK 47 assault rifle, a self-loading rifle and other arms and ammunition were recovered. Battalion One is primarily used for ensuring the safe movement of senior Maoist leaders. The killing of Rahul Punem, who headed the battalion, is a significant setback for the party, the release said, adding that, with this encounter, the total number of Maoists killed in Bastar region in 2025 has gone up to 204. Narayanpur Superintendent of Police Robinson Guria said that based on credible intelligence inputs about the presence of Maoist cadre in Pariya-Kakur jungles of Abhujmad, a joint operation was launched on July 17 by personnel of District Reserve Guard, Special Task Force and the Border Security Force. On July 18, intermittent exchanges of fire took place between the Maoists and the security forces throughout the afternoon. "We are in a decisive phase of eliminating Naxalism from Bastar. Those who are misled by its hollow ideology and continue to obstruct the region's development must surrender. This is the only way to secure their lives and reclaim their dignity. If not, they will face inevitable consequences," said Robinson. The Inspector General Sundarraj P. said "a determined and effective campaign is underway across Bastar division against the banned and illegal CPI (Maoist) outfit. In just the first half of 2005, as many as 204 Maoists have been neutralised in various encounters. Bastar police is committed to continuing this momentum". It is significant that the latest encounter took place days ahead of the "martyrdom week" observed by Maoists every year from July 28-August 3 to commemorate those who died in the party's armed struggle. CPI (Maoist) recently released a press note and a 24-page booklet in Gondi and English calling for the success of the week to counter the dwindling strength of the party and honour the fallen comrades. The note highlighted Bastar as the fulcrum of Dandakaranya, where the outfit suffered its biggest loss with 281 fatalities reported in this area alone in the past year. Overall, the party claimed that 357 Naxalites were killed in encounters since the launch of 'Operation Kagar' on January 1 last year. They included 136 women, four central committee members and 15 state committee members. The encounters ran alongside sustained counter-insurgency efforts and attractive rehabilitation packages. The combined strategy has significantly impacted the Maoist movement. Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai last week in a post on X said that 1,521 Maoists have surrendered in the state in the past 15 months. On an average, three Maoists have surrendered every day during the period. He called it "a strong indicator of the increasing reach and trust of the government in the Maoist affected regions". Sai also wrote "this is not just a surrender, it is a victory of trust – the trust our government has built by taking development to the remotest corners through people-centric schemes. Today, it's not the bullets but the voice of development that can be heard in Bastar". Sukma Superintendent of Police Kiran S. Chavan said that all surrendered Maoists will be provided the incentive amount and other facilities at the rate of Rs 50,000 each under the new rehabilitation policy of the government. The stick and carrot policy of Chhattisgarh government had a cascading effect on adjoining Telangana too where surrenders have spiked. In view of the onslaught against them in Chhattisgarh, members of the cadre, who had origins in Telangana but had been posted in Chhattisgarh for party work, looked up to political leaders in Telangana to negotiate their surrender before the police. About 390 such cadre members surrendered this year in Telangana. A top Maoist couple from Chhattisgarh surrendered itself to Ambar Kumar Jha, Commissioner of Police of Ramagundam in Telangana, four days ago. Atram Latchanna, a member of the Telangana State committee of CPI (Maoist) and his wife Atram Aruna had surrendered to him. They hailed from villages under the jurisdictional limits of the commissionerate. While Latchanna led the party activities in Chhattisgarh for over three decades and maintained close contact with top leadership of the party, Aruna worked as the divisional committee secretary of the party in Bastar. The couple was driven in a car by the police from Chhattisgarh when they expressed a desire to surrender to police in Telangana. Latchanna told media persons that he was asked to face the risk when he approached the party leadership to let him surrender. Another couple from Chhattisgarh – Sanjeev, member of the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee's secretariat, and his wife Perugula Parvathi who was also a member of the committee, surrendered before Commissioner of Police of Rachakonda, G. Sudhir Babu, on July 17. The police official announced a reward of Rs 20 lakh each to the couple. Sanjeev, who spent over four-and-a-half decades underground, was a key member of Jana Natya Mandali (JNM), the cultural troupe of CPI (Maoist) founded by late balladeer Gadar. The couple attracted tribals of Chhattisgarh towards Naxalism with their songs and dances in Hindi, Telugu and Koya languages. Sanjeev had joined the JNM under the leadership of Gadar in 1980 and continued in the organisation till 1986. Thereafter, he joined the ranks of People's War to propagate the ideology of the party through song and dance in villages. After his marriage to Parvathi, the couple was involved in training the cadre of JNM. It took up performances on behalf of CPI (Maoist) after the merger of People's War with the party. Sanjeev survived two encounters with police during his underground life. He was once picked up by the police in a decoy operation when he was admitted for treatment of an injury at the Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences hospital in Hyderabad in the early nineties. Then, Additional Superintendent of Police of Warangal A.R. Anuradha, dressed as a doctor and went to his hospital bed to take him into custody on receiving information about his admission.
The Hindu
4 days ago
- The Hindu
U.P. police busts illegal religious conversion racket, arrest 10 accused
Uttar Pradesh Police on Saturday (July 19, 2025) said it arrested 10 individuals from six States involved in a large-scale illegal religious conversion racket. The arrests were made from Rajasthan, West Bengal, Uttarakhand, Delhi and Goa apart from U.P. 'The probe began in Agra in March after two sisters aged 18 and 33 were reported missing. Investigations revealed that they were allegedly coerced into religious conversion and were undergoing radicalization. One of the sisters had also put a picture of a girl holding an AK 47 rifle as her profile picture on a social media platform. Preliminary investigations found that the sisters were targeted by a gang involved in 'love jihad' and radicalization,' said Agra Commissioner of Police Deepak Kumar. He added evidence of the racket receiving funding originating from America and Canada is also noticed during investigation,'. 'The arrested individuals activities included receiving illicit funds, providing safe houses for covert operations, offering legal advice, and providing other forms of assistance to facilitate the conversions and radicalization,' added the police. In light of multi State and transnational imprints of the racket dedicated units of the State police, including the Special Task Force (STF) and the Anti-Terror Squad (ATS), are deployed to assist with the ongoing investigation. 'This action is part of 'Mission Asmita', an ongoing initiative aimed at dismantling such illicit syndicates,' added the U.P. police. Mission Asmita, is a dedicate initiative of U.P. police to take on criminals involved in serious offenses such as illegal conversions, radicalization, love jihad and deliberate attempts to undermine national security with the help of transnational network.
NDTV
4 days ago
- Politics
- NDTV
Mission Asmita: UP Police Busts Large-Scale ISIS-Style Conversion Racket, 10 Arrested
The Uttar Pradesh Police on Saturday said they have busted a large-scale illegal religious conversion racket and arrested 10 people from six states. The probe began in Agra in March after two sisters -- aged 33 and 18 -- were reported missing. Investigations revealed that they were allegedly coerced into religious conversion and were undergoing radicalization, the police said. One of the sisters had also put a picture of a girl holding an AK 47 rifle as her profile picture on a social media platform, they said. "Preliminary investigations found that the sisters were targeted by a gang involved in 'love jihad' and radicalisation," Agra Commissioner of Police Deepak Kumar said. "We also found clues about their funding originating from America and Canada," he said. The Agra police have made 10 arrests in connection with the case. While three were arrested from Rajasthan, two each were nabbed from Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal and one each from Goa, Uttarakhand and Delhi. "The modus operandi of the gang involved illegal conversion and radicalization bears a signature of ISIS," Commissioner Kumar further said. The arrested individuals played diverse roles within this intricate network. Their activities included receiving illicit funds, providing safe houses for covert operations, offering legal advice, and providing other forms of assistance to facilitate the conversions and radicalization, the commissioner said. Given the gravity of these incidents, specialized units of the UP Police, including the Special Task Force (STF) and the Anti-Terror Squad (ATS), have been roped in to assist with the ongoing investigation, Director General of Police Rajeev Krishna. This action is part of 'Mission Asmita', an ongoing initiative aimed at dismantling such illicit syndicates. Mission Asmita specifically targets criminals involved in serious offenses such as 'love jihad', illegal conversions, radicalization, and deliberate attempts to undermine national security by funneling international jihadist funding through clandestine networks, including the dark web, DGP Krishna reiterated. (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Indian Express
5 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
Encounter in Chhattisgarh's Abujhmad, 6 Maoists killed
Six Maoists were killed in an encounter with security forces in Abujhmad area of Chhattisgarh's Narayanpur district on Friday, authorities said. This takes the total number of Maoists killed in Chhattisgarh to 221 including 204 in Bastar region, this year so far, which is more than last year when 219 Maoists were killed in the state including 217 in Bastar region. The encounter broke out in the afternoon in an undisclosed location in Abujhmad. Based on intelligence inputs, joint teams of security forces launched a search operation. During the operation, intermittent encounters between the security forces and Maoists took place. 'So far, six bodies have been recovered. Weapons including AK 47 rifle and SLR rifle recovered so far. The dead Maoists are being identified,' said Inspector General of Police, Bastar Range, Sundarraj P. 'As the operation is still in progress, further details cannot be shared at this moment in order to ensure the safety of the personnel involved,' he added. In June this year Union Home Minister Amit Shah visited Chhattisgarh to review the anti-maoist operations to ensure Left-Wing Extremism (LWE) is eradicated from India by March 2026. In his public speech, Shah had said, 'I want to say this to the people of Chhattisgarh before I go… Every year during the rainy season, Naxals used to get some rest. But this time, we will not allow them to sleep even during the rains, and will move forward to achieve our March 2026 goal.'
