Is Congress’s preemptive motion on Justice Varma behind Dhankhar’s resignation?

New Delhi: Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar resigned on Monday, saying it was for health reasons. Behind the scenes, however, a dispute over a Rajya Sabha motion appears to have triggered his decision.

According to India Today and NDTV, Dhankhar, acting as Rajya Sabha chairman, accepted an opposition motion to remove High Court Justice Yashwant Varma without informing the Union government

The Centre had prepared its own motion, collected signatures from opposition MPs and planned to introduce it in the Lok Sabha. By going ahead unannounced, Dhankhar undercut the government’s carefully laid plan and weakened its firm stance against corruption in the judiciary.

Word spread quickly to senior ministers, who met Prime Minister Modi and then gathered in Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s office.

The BJP chief whip was told to call small groups of Rajya Sabha MPs and ask them to sign a prepared motion of censure against Dhankhar.

In batches of ten, MPs were reminded of past incidents when Dhankhar had “crossed the line” or embarrassed the government. They were also asked to stay in Delhi for the next four days in case further action was needed.

Before these measures could take full effect, Dhankhar chose to step down.

The Nadda angle

Another set of sources say Dhankhar was upset when BJP president J.P. Nadda told the upper house that only his speech in the Upper House would go on record. Dhankhar then called Union ministers Kiren Rijiju and Piyush Goyal to his office, but both skipped the next Business Advisory Committee meeting. Soon after, Dhankhar submitted his resignation, surprising many in the party. A tweet by Prime Minister Narendra Modi later hinted at lingering displeasure.

In a twist of irony, some opposition parties that had moved a no‑confidence motion against him six months ago now offered support. Within the BJP, MPs discussed times when Dhankhar’s actions had caused discomfort, while outside, commentators noted how quickly alliances had shifted.