At the start of the Monsoon Session of Parliament, a united Opposition had a clear idea of its floor strategy: It wanted to force the government for a discussion on the Pahalgam terror attack and the alleged US role in cessation of military action between India and Pakistan besides the Election Commission (EC)’s special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar. But the resignation of Jagdeep Dhankhar as the Vice-President came out of the blue.
While the government has agreed for a discussion on Operation Sindoor next week and will not concede on the Bihar SIR exercise, the Opposition now is faced with two new challenges. Most of the Opposition leaders believe Dhankhar’s sudden resignation is shrouded in mystery – there is far more to his “totally unexpected” resignation than meets the eye, as Congress leader Jairam Ramesh put it – but there seems to be lack of clarity in the Opposition camp about how to capitalise on it to score points over the government, especially since he stepped down citing health concerns.
Adding to it is the fact that there had been acrimonious relations between Dhankhar and the Opposition ever since he first presided over the Rajya Sabha in the 2022 Winter Session. The second challenge is to find and field a joint candidate for the Vice-Presidential election, for which the EC has set the ball rolling Wednesday. The Trinamool Congress (TMC), for instance, had abstained in the previous V-P election poll, claiming that the Opposition parties had decided on their nominee, Margaret Alva, without consulting it.
Much water has flown down the bridge since then. With West Bengal headed to the Assembly elections next year, the TMC would weigh its options carefully – it may not like to be seen as siding with any camp. The AAP, on the other hand, has already declared that it was not part of the Opposition INDIA bloc. Interestingly, the TMC has so far refrained from commenting on Dhankhar’s resignation.
As regards the principal Opposition Congress, the initial response articulated by Ramesh surprised his own party. While arguing that Dhankhar’s resignation was “inexplicable” and “clearly there is far more to his totally unexpected resignation than meets the eye”, Ramesh went on to say that “Dhankhar took both the Government and the Opposition to task in equal measure” and even requested him to reconsider his decision. “This will be in the nation’s interest. The farming community particularly will be greatly relieved,” he said.
“Sometimes he (Ramesh) is on his own. Dhankhar clearly was the most partisan Chairman the Rajya Sabha has seen,” a senior Congress functionary said.
Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Priyanka Chaturvedi publicly disagreed with Ramesh. “’Mr Dhankar took both the Government and the Opposition to task in equal measure.’ Fact check: Incorrect. Reminder: Opposition was forced to file a no-confidence motion against the Chair because of the partisan manner of conduct. Let’s at least not forget that, just because the moment has come as a surprise,” she said.
And it was not just Ramesh. Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav Tuesday said, “Our very popular Vice-President expressed concern about his health and resigned but nobody inquired about his health. Nobody went to ask about his well-being. Lots of BJP members would have been waiting for a message to go and ask about health and well-being. I don’t think that any of the BJP members would have reached to ask about his well-being… Today a person occupying top position has to resign by showing concern for his health and nobody from the BJP is going to inquire (about his health), then that means ‘kuch daal me kaala hai’ which we are not able to guess.”
Such reactions marked an interesting change of stance since the Congress and the SP were part of the Opposition group, which has had several run-ins with Dhankhar in the past. They had in December last year even made the unprecedented move of bringing a no-confidence motion against the V-P, accusing him of “partisan conduct” as the Rajya Sabha Chairman.
In their impeachment notice which was later rejected by Deputy Chairman Harivansh, the Opposition had alleged that Dhankhar had taken it upon himself to be an “impassioned spokesperson” of the government’s policies in public forums. They had alleged that he was “explicitly partisan” and conducted the proceedings of the Upper House in an “extremely biased manner.”
And therein lies the Opposition’s dilemma. Most of the Opposition leaders believe that Dhankhar’s exit was allegedly “forced” by the government – which aligns with their larger allegation that the BJP-led government has been undermining the Constitution and institutions – but are wary of going full-throttle over the issue. “What if we turn it into a big political issue and he then makes a statement tomorrow, saying he was pained by the politicisation of his resignation. So far he has been quiet. We hope he will speak out one day,” a senior Opposition leader said, signalling the Opposition’s belief that Dhankhar would follow the Satyapal Malik route.
“To protect the dignity of the second-highest constitutional office and address growing speculation, the government must clarify the circumstances surrounding the resignation of Jagdeep Dhankhar. Information from certain quarters suggests a senior minister sought his resignation on behalf of the government. The contrast between the Prime Minister’s enthusiastic endorsement of Dhankhar ji as ‘Kisan Putra’ during his candidacy and the cryptic, delayed statement following his resignation heightens intrigue,” said the CPM’s Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas.
“If the government continues to evade questions, it would be fitting for Dhankhar ji to break his silence to uphold the dignity of the office.While the Opposition disagreed with the former Vice-President on many issues, the BJP government’s handling of this constitutional position is deeply troubling and warrants concern,” said Brittas.
On the other hand, the virtual silences of the TMC and the DMK on the issue show that all the Opposition parties are not on the same page.
On its part, the BJP believes that the issue would die down in a few days and the attention would shift to the election of the new Vice-President. And then, the Opposition would face its next challenge. It is not just the TMC and the AAP which do not want to be seen with the Congress, the CPM is also upset with the grand old party, particularly Rahul Gandhi, for having attacked it during his last Kerala visit.
