It is more than that meets the eyes

What happened suddenly that the vice-president had to take this decision? Though he had cited his health as the reason for submitting his resignation letter but the chain of events before his announcement of quitting suggests something else.

Dhankhar had suffered a cardiac arrest earlier this year. But he recovered and resumed his official duties with full force. He chaired the Rajya Sabha sitting in the first half of the first day of the monsoon session of Parliament on Monday.

The vice-president had also scheduled a meeting of the Business Advisory Committee on Tuesday afternoon, and on Wednesday a one-day official visit to Jaipur.

As per several media reports, Dhankhar’s decision to accept a motion submitted by the leader of opposition Mallikarjun Kharge seeking removal of Justice Yashwant Varma did not go well with the ruling party. "This came unexpectedly for the government, which had hoped the motion for removal would be a joint initiative beginning in the Lok Sabha."

The motion was submitted to the vice-president around 2 pm, and around 4 pm he informed the House about it.  He asked the Secretary-General of the Rajya Sabha, P.C. Mody, to enquire with the Lok Sabha about submission of a similar motion. Almost after half an hour the Business Advisory Committee meeting started.

The vice-president questioned the absence of leader of the House J.P. Nadda and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju from Union Minister L. Murugan to which he replied that they had been called for an urgent meeting.

Thereafter, he submitted his resignation.

Dhankhar has been vocal about fair investigation in the cash recovery case at Justice Varma’s house. In March half-burnt currency notes were found at the official residence of Justice Varma in Delhi. But the speculations surrounding his resignation will not stop in days to come.

Did Dhankhar pay the price for choosing to go his way instead of walking along with the government?