The Congress on Tuesday claimed that Jagdeep Dhankhar’s resignation as Vice President involved “far deeper reasons” than the health concerns officially cited, suggesting his exit reflects poorly on those who elevated him to the post.

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, in a series of posts on X, recounted events leading up to Dhankhar’s resignation. He said Dhankhar chaired the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) of the Rajya Sabha at 12:30pm on Monday, attended by most members including Leader of the House JP Nadda and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju. The BAC decided to reconvene at 4:30 pm.

However, according to Ramesh, when the BAC reassembled, both Nadda and Rijiju did not turn up. “Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar was not personally informed that the two senior Ministers were not attending. Rightly he took umbrage and rescheduled the BAC for today at 1 pm,” Ramesh wrote. He suggested that “something very serious” happened between 1 pm and 4:30 pm to explain their absence.

“In a truly unprecedented move, Shri Jagdeep Dhankar has resigned. He has given health reasons for doing so. Those should be respected. But it is also a fact that there are far deeper reasons for his resignation,” Ramesh said.

Describing Dhankhar as someone who “spoke fearlessly for the welfare of farmers,” “forcefully against what he called ‘ahankar’ in public life,” and emphasised judicial accountability, Ramesh said the Vice President attempted to accommodate the Opposition within limits of the current ruling regime. “He was a stickler for norms, proprieties, and protocol, which he believed were being consistently disregarded,” Ramesh said.

“Jagdeep Dhankar's resignation speaks highly of him. It also speaks poorly of those who had got him elected as Vice President in the first instance,” he added.

Earlier, after Dhankhar’s sudden resignation on Monday evening, Ramesh remarked, “The sudden resignation of the Vice President and Chairman of the Rajya Sabha is as shocking as it is inexplicable.” He revealed he had spoken to Dhankhar as late as 7:30 pm the same day.

While acknowledging Dhankhar’s health needs priority, Ramesh maintained, “there is far more to his totally unexpected resignation than meets the eye.”

Congress leaders also urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to persuade Dhankhar to reconsider his decision, saying it would be in the national interest. “The farming community, in particular, will be greatly relieved if Dhankhar changed his mind,” Ramesh said.

Dhankhar, 74, who took office in August 2022, had recently undergone angioplasty at AIIMS Delhi. His resignation coincided with the start of the Monsoon session of Parliament.

Meanwhile, Congress MP Vivek Tankha told PTI about Dhankhar's "jovial mood" while conducting the Parliament.