Vice President of India Jagdeep Dhankhar has officially resigned from his position, effective immediately, citing health concerns as the primary reason. The resignation was tendered on Monday, July 21, under Article 67(a) of the Constitution of India.
Jagdeep Dhankhar, who assumed office as the 14th Vice President of India in 2022, submitted his resignation to President Droupadi Murmu, expressing his intention to prioritise healthcare and adhere to medical advice. Prior to his role as Vice President, Dhankhar served as the Governor of West Bengal from 2019 to 2022.
In his resignation letter addressed to the President of India, Jagdeep Dhankhar extended gratitude to key dignitaries and institutions for their support and collaboration during his tenure: “To prioritise health care and abide by medical advice, I hereby resign as the Vice President of India, effective immediately, in accordance with Article 67(a) of the Constitution,” he wrote.
The VP also thanked the President, the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers for their cooperation and support.
However, the abrupt nature of his resignation has led to speculation over internal rifts within the ruling establishment, with some questioning whether the BJP-RSS leadership was dissatisfied with Dhankhar.
Congress Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh, while stating that Dhankhar’s decision to step down should be respected, hinted at “far deeper reasons” behind the resignation.
According to the Congress leader, the VP had chaired the Business Advisory Committee of the Rajya Sabha at 12.30 pm earlier in the day. It was also attended by 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. However, both Nadda and Rijiju did not turn up for the meeting later, he said.
Jairam Ramesh claimed that the VP was not personally informed that the two senior Ministers were not attending. “Rightly he took umbrage and rescheduled the BAC for today at 1 pm. 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,” he shared on X.
“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. Shri Jagdeep Dhankar's resignation speaks highly of him. It also speaks poorly of those who had got him elected as Vice President in the first instance,” he wrote.
With IANS inputs