Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar resigned on the very first day of the Monsoon Session of Parliament, citing “health concerns”. However, the Opposition remains unconvinced, and many conspiracy theories have been floating since then. Some claim that the BJP was unhappy with Dhankhar for acknowledging the impeachment notice moved by the Opposition against Justice Yashwant Varma, rather than the one submitted by the ruling party. Others point to his repeated confrontations with the judiciary as a possible reason.
While the “real” reason behind his resignation is known only to Dhankhar and the Centre, it’s worth revisiting a moment in his tenure when the Opposition seriously considered impeaching him. Although the motion never progressed formally, Dhankhar remains the only Vice President in India’s history to have faced such a serious and coordinated impeachment effort from the Opposition.
Why did the Opposition want to impeach him?
During the Winter Session of the Parliament in 2024, the INDIA bloc demanded a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe against Gautam Adani over bribery allegations, which they claimed have “tarnished the image of the country and raised issues of corruption”.
“We are not going to back down. We are adamant on JPC on the Adani Issue. After the revelations in the US, the constitution of a JPC has become more important,” Congress MP Jairam Ramesh said at the time.
For those unaware, US prosecutors indicted Adani Group companies, its chief Gautam Adani and seven others, over an alleged $265 million (Rs 2,029 crore) scheme to bribe officials to secure green energy supply deals.
Although Dhankhar announced that Kharge and several Congress leaders sought discussion on the alleged corruption, bribery and financial irregularities of the Adani Group, he disallowed the notices.
“Sanjay Singh and Dr Sandosh Kumar, and Raghav Chadha have sought discussion on the ongoing violence and killings in Manipur. Sayed Naseer Hussain, Javed Ali Khan and Haris Beeran have sought discussion on violent clashes during survey in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh. Further, Dr V Sivadasan has sought discussion on the need for special assistance to address the plight of people of Wayanad,” Dhankhar further announced.
When he disallowed the notices, the Opposition, which was already accusing him of partisanship, said that they had been mulling submitting an impeachment notice.
No-confidence motion against VP
As many as 60 MPs from the Opposition, as per reports, had signed a resolution for a no-confidence motion against Dhankhar. This was signed under Article 67(B) of the Constitution, according to which the Vice President can be removed from office if a majority of Rajya Sabha members pass a resolution. Additionally, Lok Sabha also has to approve it.
While the Opposition claimed to have enough signatures, they did not move it as they decided to give Dhankhar a “second chance”. However, they later walked back their stance and went ahead with it. BJP, at the time, had more seats than the majority mark.
It was on December 10, 2024, that they moved the notice in the “interest of parliamentary democracy” and submitted it to the Secretary General of the Upper House.
“Jagdeep Dhankar has acted in a manner that is explicitly partisan and unfair towards members belonging to the Opposition. Since assuming office, he has repeatedly made disparaging comments about Members of the House belonging to Opposition Parties publicly, criticising any and every action taken by them where the Leaders have expressed issues with the functioning of the ruling Government,” the notice stated.
It added, “Jagdeep Dhankar has repeatedly interrupted members of the Opposition while they are speaking, unfairly used privilege motions to silence leaders of the opposition, and openly delegitimised dissent with respect to the actions of the Government in the utmost disparaging manner.”
The notice further said that he took it upon himself to become the “impassioned spokesperson of the government’s policies”.
Deputy Chairman junked it
Rajya Sabha deputy chairman Harivansh Narayan Singh dismissed the notice for a motion of no-confidence against Dhankhar, arguing that it was drawn in haste to malign him and garner publicity. He further said that the notice had technical flaws, and even his name was misspelt. What’s more, in his three-page ruling, he junked it as “casual and cavalier”.
“The gravity of this personally targeted notice bereft of facts and aimed at securing publicity makes its exposé expedient, being misadventure in deliberate trivialising and demeaning of the high constitutional office of Vice President of the largest democracy…,” Deputy Chairman said in his ruling.
He further added, “The notice is held as an act of impropriety, severely flawed, apparently drawn in haste and hurry to mar the reputation of the incumbent vice-president and aimed to damage the constitutional institution. The same deserves to be and is hereby dismissed,” a section of the ruling stated.
Interestingly, in 2020, Opposition MPs moved a notice for a no-confidence motion against Harivansh himself, but it was also not accepted for not giving the 14-day notice.
Dhankar’s response to the notice against him
Reacting to the notice against him, he said, “Just look at the notice against the Vice President. Just look at the six links they have given. You’ll be shocked. Chandra Shekhar Ji once said, ‘Never use a vegetable-cutting knife for bypass surgery.’ The notice wasn’t even a vegetable-cutting knife; it was rusted. There was haste. When I read it, I was astonished,” he remarked.
“Let me declare why the notice emanated. Any constitutional position has to be vindicated by commitment to sublimity, sterling qualities, and constitutionalism. We are not in a position to settle scores. Because for the success of democracy, two things are inalienable: expression and dialogue,” he further added.
Ahead of his resignation, Dhankhar joked at an event in Delhi that he would retire “at the right time”, before adding the words, “subject to divine intervention”.
“I will retire at the right time, August 2027, subject to divine intervention,” he had said.