The Congress on Tuesday (July 22, 2025) claimed that there are “far deeper reasons” for Jagdeep Dhankhar’s resignation as the Vice-President than the health reasons cited by him, and said his resignation speaks highly of him but poorly of those who got him elected to the post.
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said Mr. Dhankhar chaired the Business Advisory Committee of the Rajya Sabha at 12.30 p.m. on Monday (July 21, 2025).
“Yesterday, Shri Jagdeep Dhankar chaired the Business Advisory Committee of the Rajya Sabha at 12:30 p.m. It was attended by most members, including Leader of the House JP Nadda and the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Kiren Rijiju. After some discussion, the BAC decided to meet again at 4:30 p.m.,” he pointed out in a post on X.
“It was attended by most members, including Leader of the House JP Nadda and the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Kiren Rijiju. After some discussion, the BAC decided to meet again at 4:30 PM,” he pointed out in a post on X.
Mr. Ramesh said. “At 4:30 p.m., the BAC reassembled under the chairmanship of Shri Jagdeep Dhankar. It waited for Shri Nadda and Shri Rijiju to arrive. They never came. Shri Jagdeep Dhankar was not personally informed that the two senior Ministers were not attending. Rightly he took umbrage and rescheduled the BAC for today at 1 p.m.”.
So something very serious happened yesterday between 1 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. to account for the deliberate absence of Shri Nadda and Shri Rijiju from the second BAC yesterday., he said in a post on Tuesday (July 22, 2025).
“Now in a truly unprecedented move, Shri Jagdeep Dhankar has resigned. He has given health reasons for doing so. Those should be respected. But it is also a fact that there are far deeper reasons for his resignation,” Mr. Ramesh claimed.
Mr. Ramesh said “While always lauding post-2014 India, he spoke fearlessly for the welfare of farmers, forcefully against what he called ‘ahankar’ in public life, and strongly on judicial accountability and restraint. 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.”
Meanwhile, Congress MP and the party’s deputy leader in Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi called upon the Centre to clarify if there was prior information regarding the resignation and asked if there was a plan in place for a “smooth transition”.
“The resignation of the Hon’ble Vice President is both sudden and shocking. I wish good health to respected Dhankar ji. But it is for the Union government to clarify if they had prior intimation and have planned for a smooth transition. The absence of senior ministers yesterday at a meeting chaired by the Hon’ble Vice President now carries even more significance,” he said in a post on X.
The Opposition on Monday (July 21, 2025) raised questions over Mr. Dhankhar’s sudden resignation as the Vice-President, with the Congress saying that clearly, there is “far more to his totally unexpected resignation than meets the eye”.
The Congress also urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to convince Mr. Dhankhar to change his mind.
Mr. Dhankhar, 74, assumed office in August 2022 and his tenure was till 2027.
He is also the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha and his resignation came on the first day of the Monsoon Session of Parliament.
Mr. Dhankhar had recently undergone angioplasty at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi.
In his eventful tenure as the Rajya Sabha chairman, Mr. Dhankhar had several run-ins with the Opposition, which had also moved a motion to impeach him.
The motion, the first time ever in independent India to remove a Vice-President, was later rejected by Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh.
