Jagdeep Dhankar’s shock resignation prompts search for reasons, Opposition says “deeper reasons” than health

The gazette notification of Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar’s resignation, ostensibly on health grounds, was issued by the Union Home Ministry on Tuesday (July 22, 2025), less than 24 hours after he tendered it, formally marking his exit from the post.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a brief message posted on social media platform X, acknowledged the resignation without elaboration. “Shri Jagdeep Dhankharji has got many opportunities to serve our country in various capacities, including as the Vice President of India. Wishing him good health,” Mr. Modi said.

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Though there is no official word on what prompted the resignation, sources indicated it may have been linked to Mr. Dhankhar’s decision to accept a notice submitted by 63 Opposition MPs seeking the removal of Justice Yashwant Varma.

According to sources, the government was taken by surprise as it had intended the motion for removal to be a bipartisan initiative, and that too originating in the Lok Sabha.

By the time Mr. Dhankhar accepted the Opposition’s notice, a joint delegation of senior leaders from both the ruling alliance and the Opposition had already submitted a similar motion to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, indicating rare political consensus.

Further, Mr. Dhankhar not only accepted the notice but also informed the Rajya Sabha that if similar notices were presented in both Houses, a joint committee would be constituted to examine the allegations against Justice Varma.

During this period, government managers were reportedly mobilising signatures from NDA MPs in the Rajya Sabha in support of the motion, to preserve its bipartisan character.

Sources added that the matter led to an exchange of heated words between officials in the Rajya Sabha Chairperson’s office and government functionaries.

While this may have acted as the immediate trigger, sources suggest there were underlying differences between Mr. Dhankhar and the government. Sources say it has been a while since Mr. Dhankar and the government have been simpatico, with the former not feeling supported enough by the Centre when an Opposition sponsored impeachment motion was moved against him last December, and the government objecting to his frequent statements taking up cudgels against the judiciary. 

Dhankhar’s remarks on judiciary didn’t sit well with Govt

Differences also surfaced over Mr. Dhankhar’s remarks critical of the judiciary, which reportedly did not sit well with the government.

He had, on one occasion, publicly admonished Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan at a function, urging him to initiate dialogue with protesting farmers.

On Tuesday, the Opposition raised questions over the circumstances of Mr. Dhankhar’s departure. Congress chief whip Jairam Ramesh, in a detailed post on X, described events on Mr. Dhankhar’s final day in office, pointing to the absence of Leader of the House in Rajya Sabha J.P. Nadda and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju from a meeting of the Rajya Sabha’s Business Advisory Committee (BAC), which Mr. Dhankhar reportedly took umbrage at.

Mr. Dhankhar had subsequently rescheduled the BAC meeting to 1 p.m. on Tuesday. “So something very serious happened yesterday between 1 PM and 4:30 PM to account for the deliberate absence of Shri Nadda and Shri Rijiju from the second BAC yesterday,” Mr. Ramesh wrote.

Mr. Nadda, however, denied any procedural lapse, saying that the Vice-President’s office had been informed in advance. “The Vice President’s office was intimated about our inability to attend the meeting,” he said.

Mr. Ramesh maintained that there were “deeper reasons” behind the resignation. “To the extent possible under the current G2 ruling regime, he tried to accommodate the Opposition. He was a stickler for norms, proprieties, and protocol, which he believed were being consistently disregarded in both his capacities,” Mr. Ramesh said — a pointed remark, given the Opposition’s earlier move to impeach Mr. Dhankhar for alleged partisanship.

Mr. Dhankhar resigned on Monday evening, citing medical reasons in his letter to President Droupadi Murmu. He said he was stepping down with immediate effect.