Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar’s sudden resignation from office has stirred political intrigue, especially in light of events that unfolded just prior to his announcement. According to sources, Dhankhar expressed deep disappointment over the absence of Leader of the House JP Nadda and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju during the second meeting of the Rajya Sabha’s Business Advisory Committee (BAC) on Monday, mere hours before his resignation.
While both Nadda and Rijiju attended the first BAC meeting at 12:30 pm, they were conspicuously absent at the reconvened meeting at 4:30 pm. Their absence was reportedly not communicated directly to Dhankhar, leading to visible frustration. In their place, Union Minister L Murugan represented the government and requested the Vice President to reschedule the meeting for the next day.
Opposition MP Jairam Ramesh, who attended the meeting, noted that Dhankhar waited for the senior ministers and was rightly upset at their unexplained absence. Ramesh hinted at deeper undercurrents, remarking that "something very serious" must have transpired between 1 pm and 4:30 pm that led to such a “deliberate absence.”
What adds to the mystery is that Dhankhar showed no signs of health distress during the day. He presided over Rajya Sabha proceedings, including discussions on an impeachment motion against Justice Yashwant Varma, and met with opposition leaders—giving no indication of his intention to resign.
Jagdeep Dhankhar’s resignation, officially citing medical reasons, came as a shock across party lines. He became the third Vice President in Indian history to resign before completing his term, after VV Giri and R Venkataraman, both of whom resigned to contest the presidency.
Dhankhar, who took office in August 2022, had a contentious tenure marked by frequent face-offs with the Opposition, even facing an unprecedented (though ultimately rejected) motion seeking his removal. His abrupt exit, the timing, and the circumstances surrounding the BAC meeting have now raised speculations about internal discord within the government or deeper institutional frictions.
