Now Comes Centre’s Version On Dhankhar Issue

After almost 4 days of Jagdeep Dhankhar's resignation from the post of Vice President, the Centre government's version on this issue has come out. Today,  some ‘ trusted’ news portals carried the version with their own interpretations. The government narrates its story, obviously, through ‘sources.’

Sources revealed that the tussle between Jagdeep Dhankhar and the government was not a one-day affair. It had been brewing for a long time over a list of demands by the former Vice President. The row over accepting an opposition-backed motion to impeach Justice Yashwant Varma proved to be the last straw.

According to Sources, Dhankhar was in touch with a senior Congress leader regarding the motion to impeach Justice Varma, from whose residence a large cash stash was recovered earlier this year. Concerned by the development, the government made three attempts to dissuade Dhankhar from independently accepting the Opposition's proposal. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, Law Minister Arjun Meghwal and Leader of the Rajya Sabha, JP Nadda, urged the Vice President to wait, citing that there was an ongoing effort to build a consensus for a joint impeachment motion.

In a rare act of dissent, Dhankhar went ahead and announced that he had received signatures from Opposition MPs in the Upper House, despite the Centre's interventions and repeated reminders, sources said. Four to five days before the Monsoon Session of the Parliament started, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju had already informed the Vice President of the Centre's intention of going ahead with a proposal in the Lok Sabha to move an impeachment motion against Justice Varma. Dhankhar was also told that a similar proposal would be introduced in the Rajya Sabha as well, sources added.

A day before the Monsoon Session started and Dhankhar's surprise exit from the Upper House, Union Minister Rijiju reiterated the same information to the former Vice President, according to sources. By then, the government had already collected the signatures, including those from Opposition party members, in the Lower House.

Meanwhile, Dhankhar met a few Opposition leaders on Sunday and Monday, where a proposal to bring about an impeachment motion against Justice Varma was discussed. However, the Vice President allegedly remained tight-lipped about what the Opposition said to him. By Monday morning, it became clear that the Vice President had met a senior leader from Congress and was prepared to formally accept the signatures collected by the Opposition leaders and announce the motion in the House that very day, sources said.

During this time, the government reached out to the Vice President three times, saying that the signatures being collected should also include those of ruling party MPs, as the agenda had been decided by consensus, sources said. First, JP Nadda and Kiren Rijiju met with the Vice President. The second time, Rijiju and Arjun Meghwal met him. The third time, only Meghwal met him and conveyed that the government should be taken into confidence and that signatures from ruling party MPs were also important.

But the Vice President allegedly did not budge and gave no assurance to the government. He gave a clear indication that he would read out the list of opposition MPs in the House, sources further said.

Tussle Brewing Since Long

The clash between the government and Dhankhar was not a one-day affair. According to sources, there were underlying reasons for the tension, which had surfaced from time to time on different issues.

Ahead of US Vice President JD Vance's visit, Dhankhar allegedly said, "I too am a Vice President and his counterpart, so I will hold the main and high-level meeting with him." Following this, a senior Cabinet minister called him to clarify that while JD Vance may be the Vice President, he was bringing a message from the US President for Prime Minister Modi, sources said.

Sources also claim that Dhankhar used to request that his photograph be displayed alongside those of the Prime Minister and the President in ministers' offices. He also allegedly pressured multiple times for all the vehicles in his fleet to be upgraded to Mercedes-Benz cars. The signs were clear, and the developments on Monday proved to be the tipping point.

Before any action could be taken by the government, Dhankhar reached Rashtrapati Bhavan (the President’s residence) without prior notice. He waited for about 25 minutes and then submitted his resignation to the President, sources said. After submitting his resignation, he reportedly hoped until the next morning that the government might reach out to him to persuade him or that his resignation might not be accepted.

However, nothing of that sort happened, as by then the government had already decided that he must go. Following Dhankhar's sudden decision to accept the Opposition's motion in the House, PM Modi huddled with his top aides, including the Home Minister, sources said. PM Modi reportedly expressed deep disappointment over the Vice President’s conduct.

Parties Demand Loyalty

Dhankhar's resignation underlines a larger truth for the Modi government: it prefers trusted individuals in top constitutional roles but only as long as they stay predictable. For the BJP, this wasn't about Dhankhar asserting his independence; it was about a risk to stability. The party has never hesitated to rein in loose cannons - whether by removing chief ministers, denying tickets to MPs, or publicly disciplining ministers. But Dhankhar wasn't a backbencher or an attention seeker to be told off. He was an accomplished lawyer, a seasoned politician with friends across party lines - handpicked by the BJP for the job.

"That made it difficult," a senior BJP leader admitted. "But in this system, rules are the same for everyone. Party discipline comes above all."

Political parties often demand loyalty, and those picked for such roles are expected to stay in line, not grow into them. Dhankhar may have overestimated how much freedom the office of Vice President allowed him. Or perhaps, he genuinely believed that it gave him the duty to speak his mind. Either way, he became a risk that the system was not willing to carry.