Dhankhar resigned due to health reasons, no need to stretch it: Amit Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah said former vice president Jagdeep Dhankhar resigned due to health concerns and cautioned against speculating further

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday said that former Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar resigned from his post owing to health concerns and urged people not to speculate further.

 

“Dhankhar ji was sitting on a constitutional post, and during his tenure, he did good work according to the Constitution. He has resigned due to his personal health problem. One should not try to stretch it too much and find something,” Shah said during an interview with news agency ANI. 

Jagdeep Dhankhar resigns as vice president

Dhankhar, 74, who had assumed office as the 14th vice-president in August 2022, tendered his resignation on July 21, citing health concerns and the need to follow medical advice. The resignation, addressed to President Droupadi Murmu, was accepted the same day.

 

 

“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,” Dhankhar wrote in his letter.

 

He becomes the third sitting vice president to demit office before completing the five-year term. Dhankhar had succeeded M Venkaiah Naidu in 2022.

 

Opposition questions timing of Dhankar's resignation

Following Dhankhar’s resignation, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge suggested that the reasons may not be limited to health alone. “He (Dhankhar) was always on the government’s side. He should say what happened,” Kharge said, adding that only Dhankhar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi knew the details.

 

Other opposition leaders also hinted at differences between Dhankhar and the government, though Dhankhar has not commented publicly since leaving office.

 

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, in a series of posts, said the reasons behind Dhankhar’s resignation were “far deeper” than the health issues cited. He described the Prime Minister’s message on X as a “non-post” and characterised the exit as a “forced resignation", adding that the farewell note only deepened the “mystery” around the abrupt move.

 

Ramesh also pointed to the absence of BJP leaders JP Nadda and Kiren Rijiju from the second meeting of the Business Advisory Committee on July 21, suggesting that “something very serious” happened between 1 pm and 4:30 pm on that day.

 

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut also wrote to Shah, asking for clarity on the matter.

 

“What exactly has happened to our vice president (Jagdeep Dhankhar)? Where is he? How is his health? Is he safe? The nation deserves to know the truth about these questions,” Raut said in a letter. 

Who will be India's next vice-president?

The ruling NDA announced Maharashtra Governor and senior RSS functionary CP Radhakrishnan as its nominee for vice-president. Radhakrishnan, a two-time Lok Sabha MP from Coimbatore and former Tamil Nadu BJP president, was appointed Governor in 2023.

 

Meanwhile, the Opposition INDIA bloc has fielded B Sudershan Reddy,  a retired Supreme Court judge and former chief justice of the Gauhati High Court, as its candidate.

 

Shah has criticised Reddy over the Salwa Judum judgment delivered during his tenure on the Supreme Court bench, alleging that the verdict prolonged Left wing extremism. Reddy responded that the ruling was that of the entire court, and said Shah “would not have made the remarks had he read the complete judgment”.

 

Vice-president election 

The vice-president is elected by an electoral college comprising members of both Houses of Parliament through a secret ballot. The voting is due to take place on September 9.