The more you look at it, the clearer it becomes. The resignation of Jagdeep Dhankhar as Vice-President is for reasons other than indifferent health.
Though the now former Vice-President has had health problems of late — he fainted in Uttarakhand in June and was hospitalised with a heart ailment in March — had medical reasons been the decisive factor, the announcement would have been made differently and not on the V-P’s X handle at the end of an action-packed day that saw him preside over the Rajya Sabha and the Business Advisory Council.
As information filters in, it is evident that the resignation would not have come about had there not been serious differences between Dhankhar and the top government leadership. This was a big shift from last December, when the Opposition, accusing him of being partisan in his inimitably outspoken and sometimes brash manner, filed a notice to move an impeachment resolution against him.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s words of farewell to Dhankhar also told their own story. In a concise statement, the PM, wishing him well, spoke of the “many opportunities” Dhankhar had received to serve the country in “various capacities”. There was no mention of his contributions.
Unlike the Congress that suddenly found a new love for Dhankhar — the party’s communications chief Jairam Ramesh urged him to reconsider the decision, though senior leader P Chidambaram clarified it was not the official position — the government lost no time in accepting his resignation and formally notifying it within hours. There was also no intimation of a farewell for the man whom the ruling alliance had effusively welcomed as “kisan putra (farmer’s son)” after his election in 2022.
The alacrity with which Dhankhar, as Raya Sabha Chairman, accepted the Opposition’s notice on July 20 to remove Justice Yashwant Varma — wads of cash were found at the High Court judge’s Delhi home in March — is said to have not sat well with the government. Dhankhar’s decision, about which he is learnt to have not consulted the government, was seen as an attempt to upstage the BJP’s plan to bring the motion in the Lok Sabha along with Opposition MPs. Though the motion to remove a judge can be initiated in either House of Parliament, the government had hoped that the removal of the judge would be by “consensus” and not viewed as partisan.
Dhankhar accepting the Opposition notice had the fat in the fire. On the evening of July 21, BJP leaders met groups of ruling party MPs, with murmurs abound that Dhankhar had exceeded his brief. The day ended with his resignation.
Perhaps not the sole reason for Dhankhar’s exit, this was probably the last straw that broke the camel’s back. Some who met the now former V-P in recent weeks say he spoke critically of the ruling party’s leadership, and the words must have reached them. The larger-than-life profile he had acquired with his outspokenness, particularly his criticism of the judiciary, and the tendency to be frequently in the headlines, are also said to have not gone down well with the BJP brass.
At the end of the day, it is believed that the BJP could not risk the Rajya Sabha slipping out of its control with important legislation on the cards. As the Rajya Sabha Chairman, the V-P has enormous powers even as he is required to move in step with the ruling party. The Chairman cannot be in conflict with the government and also has to take the Opposition along.
This became increasingly difficult for Dhankhar to navigate as time went on, as he was seen as partisan and polarising. Since the Opposition’s attempt to introduce the no-confidence motion, Dhankhar tried to reach out to them. He was photographed with leading Opposition figures, including Arvind Kejriwal, and having meetings with Mallikarjun Kharge. On what turned out to be Dhankhar’s last day in the job, the Congress president was allowed to address the House on Pahalgam and Operation Sindoor even though the discussion was billed for a later date. All of this also likely did not sit well with the ruling side.
Likely ramifications, next V-P
It is not as if there have not been differences between the government and the V-P before. It was sometime in 2001 when the House stalled for a day after L K Advani urged then V-P Krishan Kant to adjourn proceedings sine die. Kant told the then Home Minister that it was a political decision for the government to take, and would do the needful if both the Centre and the Opposition felt it had become impossible to run the House. The government did not pursue the matter.
Kant did not make it to Rashtrapati Bhavan in 2002 even though there was a consensus on his name between the BJP and the Opposition Congress, with Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee personally conveying to Kant that his name had been finalised. It is believed he lost out because, on several occasions, he took a stand different from what those in power wanted.
While it is not fully clear what the political ramifications of Dhankhar’s exit will be, it is apparent that it is not a happy situation for the BJP: admitting it could not manage someone it had chosen for the second-highest Constitutional position. Then there are some voices from the Jat community, to which Dhankhar belongs, saying how their leaders cannot complete their terms in office. The first was Chaudhary Charan Singh, who was not allowed to prove his majority as PM in 1979, and now Dhankhar. Though his resignation may reinforce the sense of grievance among already-aggrieved Jats, it is unlikely to become a tool to mobilise the community.
The Dhankhar episode may also make members of the political class more careful about expressing their views. It is one more reminder that the era of old-school politics has come to an end. There was a time when V-Ps hosted informal lunches and there was a Central Hall in Parliament, one of those “non-institutions” of democracy that kept the dialogue going across party lines.
As for the next V-P, it is unlikely to be someone outspoken or a person who can acquire a high profile, or someone who diverges from the ruling group. It is more likely to be a person who represents a style more favoured today: rich in symbolism but low in profile.
(Neerja Chowdhury, Contributing Editor, The Indian Express, has covered the last 11 Lok Sabha elections. She is the author of How Prime Ministers Decide)