'Far more than meets the eye': Congress reacts to VP Dhankar's 'unexpected' resignation

The 74-year-old Vice President on July 21 unexpectedly announced his resignation, citing health reasons

Main opposition Congress on July 21 claimed that there was “far more” to Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar’s 'unexpected' resignation than meets the eye, hinting at the possibility of reasons other than health.

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In a tweet following the announcement, Congress leader and communications in-charge Jairam Ramesh said, “The sudden resignation of the Vice President and Chairman of the Rajya Sabha is as shocking as it is inexplicable. I was with him alongside a number of other MPs till around 5 PM today and had spoken to him over the phone at 7:30 PM.”

The sudden resignation of the Vice President and Chairman of the Rajya Sabha is as shocking as it is inexplicable. I was with him alongside a number of other MPs till around 5 PM today and had spoken to him over the phone at 7:30 PM.

No doubt Mr. Dhankar has to give topmost…

— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) July 21, 2025

“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. Mr. Dhankar took both the Government and the Opposition to task in equal measure. He had fixed a meeting of the Business Advisory Committee tomorrow at 1 PM. He was also to make some major announcements related to the judiciary tomorrow,” Ramesh said.

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Wishing Dhankar the best of health, the Congress leader hoped Prime Minister Narendra Modi would get Dhankar to change his mind. “This will be in the nation's interest. The farming community particularly will be greatly relieved,” he said.

The 74-year-old former BJP leader and the governor of West Bengal on July 21 announced that he will be resigning from his position with immediate effect to "prioritise his health".  The sudden resignation comes on the first day of the Parliament's monsoon session.

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Dhankar is the third Vice President to resign before the end of the tenure. V V Giri and R Venkataraman were the other two who had resigned from their posts to contest the presidential election.

Regarding the circumstances of his resignation, sources said that VP Dhankhar arrived at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on a very short notice, without any prior appointment on Monday evening, and submitted his resignation to the President. The 74-year-old had assumed office in August 2022.