Jagdeep Dhankhar’s decision to resign as Vice President on Monday night has triggered a firestorm of speculation on whether there was more to it than “to prioritise health care”, as his sudden move had capped a day of events in Rajya Sabha on his watch which took the government by surprise and put it in a damage-control mode.
The usual effusive praise that is showered on an occupant of a high office on his departure was missing from the ruling alliance’s side, an indication that the government was probably happy to see him go. It was the Opposition, which had signed a notice to impeach him last year for his alleged biases, that had nice words for him.
Dhankhar had informed the House on Monday that he had received a notice for a motion to remove Justice Yashwant Varma, who is embroiled in a suspected corruption case, from 63 opposition MPs. The Vice President is ex-officio chairman of the Rajya Sabha.
That the notice went against the government’s plan to marshal a bipartisan motion for Justice Varma’s removal in the Lok Sabha and not in the Upper House was made more embarrassing for the ruling alliance by the fact that it was an entirely opposition-sponsored exercise.