Jagdeep Dhankhar entitled to govt bungalow, to leave VP Enclave after 15-month stay: Official

Dhankhar resigned from the post on July 21 (Monday), citing health reasons

Former vice president Jagdeep Dhankhar, who resigned from the post a day earlier after presiding over Rajya Sabha proceedings, is entitled to a government bungalow, an official in the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry said on July 22 (Tuesday).

The former vice president will have to leave the VP Enclave after having stayed in it for nearly 15 months, reported news agency PTI.

Dhankhar, 74, shifted to the newly-constructed Vice President Enclave on Church Road near the Parliament House Complex in April last year.

The VP Enclave housing the Vice President's residence and office was constructed under the Central Vista redevelopment plan.

"He (Dhankhar) will be offered a Type VIII bungalow in Lutyens' Delhi or another area," the official said. The Type VIII bungalow is usually allotted to senior Union ministers or presidents of national parties.

Dhankhar resigned from the post on July 21 (Monday), citing health reasons.

His resignation, however, has seen the Opposition hailing him as a leader who spoke up for the causes he believed in and a stickler for norms.

"While always lauding post-2014 India, he spoke fearlessly for the welfare of farmers, forcefully against what he called ‘ahankar’ in public life, and strongly on judicial accountability and restraint. To the extent possible under the current G2 ruling regime, he tried to accommodate the Opposition. He was a stickler for norms, proprieties, and protocol, which he believed were being consistently disregarded in both his capacities," Congress Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh said, suggesting that there were "far deeper reasons" behind his resignation.

"He has said that it is because of health reasons. So, I don’t want to speculate. I can say that he was one of the most proactive Rajya Sabha Chairmen that we have seen over the years. He would always persuade members on both sides to work together," Rajya Sabha member Kapil Sibal said.

The Opposition's praise and support for Dhankhar, however, betrays the sentiment it held for the former Vice President not too long ago. One should note that Dhankhar, as Rajya Sabha Chairman, holds a rare distinction of having the Opposition bring a no-confidence motion against him and accusing him of "partisan conduct" in the Upper House.

With inputs from PTI