The Opposition demand for knowing the whereabouts of former Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar is gathering steam as it has been three weeks since he was heard or seen.
Some members of the Rajya Sabha are openly contemplating filing a habeas corpus petition in the Supreme Court to get information on his whereabouts. The last communication from him was at 9.25pm on July 21, when he posted his resignation letter to the President on X. While his silence since has been whispered about in Parliament, the Opposition has now begun speaking about it openly.
“Where is Jagdeep Dhankhar right now? He’s missing. They accepted his resignation, but where is he? He said he resigned due to health reasons, but which hospital is he admitted to? Or did BJP perform an operation on him? BJP has made Jagdeep Dhankhar disappear,” Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray was quoted as saying by news agency IANS.
Earlier in the day, his party MP Sanjay Raut wrote to Union home minister Amit Shah seeking information on Dhankhar’s whereabouts, pointing out that some Rajya Sabha members had tried to contact him but in vain. Stating that this is a matter of “grave concern”, Raut wrote: “What exactly has happened to our Vice-President? Where is he? How is his health? Is he safe?...”
Rajya Sabha member Kapil Sibal on Saturday posted on X: “Can we be informed: Where is he? Is he safe? Why is he incommunicado? Amit Shah ji should know! He was our Vice-President; the country should be worried!
“What is the issue? We heard such things about other countries but India is a democracy… I have known him for long as a lawyer. In such a case, don’t want to file an FIR…,” he said.