New Delhi: Amid growing speculation over the resignation of former Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday said that Dhankhar resigned due to health reasons. He also rejected the opposition’s claims that he was ‘under house arrest’.
In an interview with ANI, the Union Home Minister said, “Dhankhar sahab’s resignation letter is clear in itself. He has cited health reasons for his resignation. He has also expressed heartfelt gratitude to the Prime Minister and other ministers and members of the government for his good tenure.” When asked about Dhankhar being ‘house arrested’ by some opposition leaders, Shah said that the interpretation of truth and lies should not depend only on opposition statements and warned against creating a ruckus over the former Vice President’s resignation.
Shah said, “It seems that your interpretation of truth and lies is based on the opposition’s words. We should not make a fuss out of all this. Dhankhar was in a constitutional post and discharged his duties as per the Constitution. He resigned due to personal health reasons. There should not be much discussion on this issue.’
The remarks came after opposition leaders questioned the sudden resignation, claiming that Dhankhar had been ‘silenced’ by the government. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said that this is the first time in the history of the country that a Vice President has been silenced along with his resignation.’
Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi also criticised the central government. He questioned Dhankhar’s whereabouts and accused the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party of taking the country back to ‘medieval times’.
Rahul Gandhi said in a press conference on August 20, ‘We are going back to medieval times when the king could remove anyone at will. There is no concept of what an elected person is. He doesn’t like your face, so he asks the ED to register a case and then a democratically elected person is removed within 30 days.’
He further said, ‘Also don’t forget why we are electing a new Vice President. Just yesterday I was talking to someone and I said, you know, where did the old Vice President go? He is gone?’
Supreme Court lawyer and senior leader Kapil Sibal also questioned whether a habeas corpus petition should be filed in view of Dhankhar’s absence from public view. However, the BJP says that Dhankhar has resigned due to health reasons and dismissed any differences with him.
Jagdeep Dhankhar resigned on July 21, the first day of the monsoon session of Parliament, saying that he wanted to give priority to healthcare and follow medical advice. At that time he was serving as the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha and submitted his resignation to President Draupadi Murmu.
