Jagdeep Dhankar Resignation: Slip, Spin, and Siesta
Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankar held a meeting with floor leaders of political parties on Monday (Image credit Sansad TV)
The treasury or the Opposition wanting anti-corruption plank with their authorship of the motion to impeach Justice Varma lacks logic
By MANISH ANAND
NEW DELHI, July 24, 2025 — Jagdeep Dhankar, former Vice President of India, resignation saga is now acquiring depth of a political thriller. A PIB FactCheck refuted claims that Dhankar’s “house has been sealed.” The government snoozed to Opposition bid to accord a farewell to Dhankar.
Observers refuse to believe that Dhankar’s health conditions took such alarming turn within a span of a few hours that parliament could not bid him a farewell. Spin doctors also got into their familiar tales of twist and tear a day after Dhankar stunned with his claims to prioritize health and say goodbye to the post of the Rajya Sabha.
The spin came a day after Dhankar had dashed away from parliament. Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his cryptic message on X made it evident that he didn’t consider Dhankar worthy of an essay. The spin doctors went on an overdrive after Modi’s message surfaced and the Union Ministry of Home Affairs issued notification of the acceptance of the resignation of Dhankar from the post of the Vice President of India.
The spin laid the pitch that Dhankar’s acceptance of an Opposition resolution to impeach Justice Yashwant Varma amounted to admitting a “no-confidence motion” against the Modi government. Players took their guards on the spin pitch to work the narrative with predictable intensity.
Parliament corridors now buzz with observers who largely have parliamentary memories limited to the last few years. They had very obediently splashed that there would be a “first ever contest for the Lok Sabha Speaker’s post” after the 2024 elections. History of India’s parliament seemed for them to have begun only a few years ago.
Both the houses of parliament function with active involvement of the government through its face – Minister for parliamentary affairs. His sole job is to keep an eye on functioning of parliament. He’s an aide to both the presiding officers – the Lok Sabha Speaker and the Rajya Sabha Chairman.
It will be almost numbing to believe that the Union Minister for parliamentary affairs wasn’t aware of the Opposition moving a motion to impeach Justice Varma. By the time the Opposition would have gathered 50 signatures of fellow MPs even the canteen boys in parliament would have known of the motion against Justice Varma.
A day before Monsoon session of parliament got underway, the government had called an all-party meeting. The Opposition spelt out all its agenda. That included their determination to impeach Justice Varma.
Impeaching a judge is incumbent on two-third majority in either of the two houses of parliament. The NDA with 293 MPs in the Lok Sabha has a strength of 54%, way short of the two-third majority. The NDA with a strength of 133 MPs in the Rajya Sabha also has about 54% strength.
Impeaching Justice Varma without the support of the Opposition would not be possible. Last two attempts to impeach Judges had seen a consensus within parliament, with treasury and the Opposition joining hands.
It will be politically most foolish to spin theory that either the treasury or the Opposition would have wanted to wrest the anti-corruption plank with their authorship of the motion to impeach Justice Varma.
Dhankar’s siesta is now extended. His absence from the public visibility gives a sense of a mystery. The people may have been spun to believe the narrative. But the story will remain one-sided unless Dhankar speaks.
(This is an opinion piece, and views expressed are those of the author only)
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