Former V-P Dhankhar’s abrupt resignation two years before term-end has sparked intense speculation. Was it a health issue, a political misstep, or behind-the-scenes manoeuvring in Delhi’s power corridors BY KUMKUM CHADHA
When the Opposition was asking for Jagdeep Dhankar’s head, the former Vice President did not oblige. Few months on, he has finally gone and done what the Opposition MPs were demanding.
And how? Also why?
Dhankhar has quit citing health reasons. The haste in which he resigned has left almost everyone stunned.
Dhankhar took over as Vice President in August 2022. He put in his papers two years ahead of time. Dhankhar was due to retire in 2027.
There are various theories doing the rounds. For starters, it is believed that Dhankhar, after the Opposition’s demand, had mellowed and was in a mood to accommodate those who were, in the past, baying for his blood.
Another, that he had deliberately gone against the BJP leadership’s strategy on Justice Yashwant Varma and given the Opposition the advantage that the BJP desperately wanted to accrue. The Government was caught off guard given that it did not want to take up the Opposition sponsored notice.
For record, Justice Varma, a judge of the Allahabad High Court, is under a lens following large amounts of burnt cash found at his official residence.
The process of impeachment had already been started by the Government in the Lok Sabha. As many as 153 members had signed in support of the impeachment motion.
Dhankhar receiving the notice from Opposition MPs and going ahead and announcing it in the Rajya Sabha instead of letting Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla do it in the Lok Sabha did not go down well with the ruling dispensation. It was seen as a bid to undercut the Government’s motion in the Lok Sabha: “Dhankhar jumped the gun by informing the Rajya Sabha that a notice had been received for Justice Sinha’s removal,” said a BJP insider.
The government, sources aver, was keen to remove Varma through a consensus. Accordingly, the 145 signatures against the 100 required to move a motion in Lok Sabha, also included members of the Opposition.
But Dhankhar went ahead and told the Rajya Sabha that he had received a notice from 63 MPs, in support of the motion for Justice Varma’s impeachment. This put the ruling Party in an awkward situation because it robbed it of the advantage to take a high moral ground on corruption.
What made it worse for the government was that all the signatories were MPs from the Opposition.
Why were the BJP MPs from the Rajya Sabha kept out? A simple answer: they had no idea about the notice in the Rajya Sabha.
Technically, Dhankhar was right in informing the House of the notice he had received but politically he not only dug his grave but also jumped in.
Three, he had got fed up of playing second fiddle to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and decided to flex his muscle: “By taking up the matter in the Rajya Sabha also, the presiding officers of both houses will form the three-member committee to probe the matter” sources said.
So was it oversight or a gameplan?
Read in a sequence, this appears part of a game plan but given that it was Dhankhar at the helm, it is unlikely that he thought of taking on the powers that be. After all it was under the Modi government that he had enjoyed immense power—whether at the Raj Bhawan or as Vice President of India. So, for him to turn the tables on his benefactor makes little sense. Also having reached the Vice President’s post, he had little to gain by aligning with the Opposition.
Therefore, more than intent, it was a miscalculation on Dhankhar’s part: he had not imagined that the Government would actually show him the door.
However, there is speculation about his ambition to see himself as President of India. But a snub from the powers that be, nipped this in the bud. Stung by the realization that there is no upward movement, he decided to turn the tables.
Another take is that Dhankhar’s exit was designed to accommodate Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar as Vice President of the country. The possibility cannot be ruled out but the hastiness with which Dhankhar resigned or was made to do so, is contrary to the way the BJP government functions.
For starters, it never does anything in a hurry; neither does it trip. Therefore, if Dhankhar had to make way for Kumar, his resignation could have happened before the monsoon session of Parliament rather than it being “there in the morning, gone in the afternoon” kind of a situation. Also, there was no reason for the government to land itself in a situation where it is faced with questions that have no clear answers. As things have panned out, more than the exit, it is the hastiness that is raising eyebrows.
A counter argument to the Nitish Kumar theory is that he remains a formidable player and for the BJP to go to the polls in Bihar minus Nitish would be counter- productive. Add to this, the assertion by the BJP that the next Vice President will be one of their own: read the BJP.
However, at the time of going to Press, everything was in the realm of speculation: why had Dhankhar resigned suddenly and who would fill in for him?.
At another level, Dhankhar’s exit has come handy for the Opposition.
The same Opposition that was baying for his blood is now singing peans, hailing him kisanputra, a farmer’s son.
The somersaults are an interesting read. Congress’ Jairam Ramesh said that Dhankhar should withdraw his resignation in “national interest”. Rewind to the time when Ramesh had alleged that Dhankhar behaved like a “cheerleader for the government instead of a neutral umpire”. Ramesh was also among those leading the Opposition’s no-confidence motion. In a sudden change of heart, Ramesh is all praise for Dhankhar’s “fearlessness”.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge has also come out in support of Dhankhar. Kharge had often accused Dhankhar of not allowing him to speak in the House.
The Dhankhar-Opposition camaraderie is a newly founded one. Till his resignation, he was at loggerheads with the Opposition. If Trinamool MP Kalyan Banerjee had mocked Dhankhar by mimicking him, he had also commented on his “wearing a suit worth lakh of rupees”.
Samajwadi MP Jaya Bachchan’s run in with Dhankhar had something to do with what she perceived as an “unacceptable tone” of his voice during the session: “I need an apology” the actor-turned-politician had thundered nearly a year ago.
This time around, the tables have turned: Dhankhar has reportedly been axed for “obliging” the Opposition vis a vis the impeachment motion of Justice Yashwant Varma.
But can it brush under the carpet the rocky relationship of the past?
It is common knowledge that all through his tenure, be it as Governor or Vice President, Dhankhar has been at loggerheads with the Opposition. Therefore, for him to toe the Opposition line is a bit of a stretch.
Till the time of going to Press, everything is in the realm of speculation. There are more questions than there are answers. The key being: who next?
Dhankhar’s resignation sure has muddied the waters: whether it is by accident or design it has given the Opposition a handle to brow-beat the government.
