Jagdeep Dhankhar Resigns: Opposition Leaders Kapil Sibal, Jairam Ramesh And Others React

Vice President of India Jagdeep Dhankhar stepped down from his post citing health reasons on Monday.

So far, only leaders from opposition parties have reacted to his resignation.

Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal, despite political differences, expressed sadness over Dhankhar's resignation and reminisced about their respectful personal and professional relationship in an interview with ANI.

Sharing the same sentiment Congress MP Kiran Kumar Chamala expressed his shock and disbelief to ANI. He also acknowledged the VP's efforts in the Rajya Sabha to appreciate all parties for thinking about the betterment of the nation. "Today morning also, he was in the Rajya Sabha and he tried to speak a few good words in the Rajya Sabha in regard to the political parties coming together to work for the betterment of the nation, keeping away whatever the difference between them. It is better for the nation to have a proper dialogue between the political parties for a constructive nation. So, it was shocking for me," Chamala said.

While other opposition leaders such as MP Jairam Ramesh of Congress also felt shocked by his decision and wished him good health, he suspected something deeper at play behind this resignation, he expressed his reaction on social media platform X.

"The sudden resignation of the Vice President and Chairman of the Rajya Sabha is as shocking as it is inexplicable... No doubt Mr. Dhankar has to give topmost priority to his health. But clearly there is far more to his totally unexpected resignation than meets the eye. This is not the time for speculation though," Ramesh said.

Another politician who echoed similar concerns was Congress leader Atul Londhe Patil who told PTI, "...If it truly was about health, then the resignation could have come before the Parliament session began, not suddenly on the very first day. It's not as if his health drastically deteriorated overnight; he looked fine today. Something feels off. Maybe he wanted to take a certain stand, and was asked not to. Maybe he refused to do what was expected."

AIMIM leader Waris Pathan told PTI, "I saw that the Vice President of India Jagdeep Dhankhar has submitted his resignation. He wrote to the President of India. He gave medical reasons for this. We can only pray that his health improves quickly..."

Dhankhar, 74, was elected as the vice president in August 2022. He has resigned two years ahead of his tenure was set to conclude.

As the vice president, he was also the chair of the Rajya Sabha, the Upper House of the Indian Parliament.

In December last year, the Opposition had tried to move an impeachment motion against Dhankhar. The motion, however, was rejected by the House's deputy chairman on the grounds that it was aimed to "mar" the reputation of the vice president.