Home minister Amit Shah on Monday claimed that Jagdeep Dhankhar had resigned as Vice-President because of poor health but sidestepped the Opposition’s questions on his whereabouts and alleged “house arrest”.

Giving an interview to news agency ANI, Shah advised against “stretching it too much” and suggested the focus should be on “positive stories”.

A normally loquacious Dhankhar has not been seen or heard since stepping down suddenly on July 21 night, having spent the morning and afternoon presiding over the Rajya Sabha with his usual verve. Many believe he had angered the Narendra Modi government with his ambition and some of his decisions, and was forced to resign.

Asked about the speculation that Dhankhar had been forced out, Shah said: “I think ANI has stopped doing research. Dhankhar’s letter is clear in itself. He cited health reasons for his resignation and expressed gratitude to the Prime Minister and other government members for the good tenure he had had.”

Told that the Opposition was asking “where is Dhankhar” and whether he was under “house arrest”, Shah merely said: “It seems like your interpretation of truth and lies is based on what the Opposition has to say.”

He dismissed speculation that Dhankhar was planning a coup.

“No, no, there is no such thing. We shouldn’t make a fuss about all this. Dhankhar held a constitutional post and performed well in accordance with the Constitution. He resigned because of health reasons,” Shah said.

“One shouldn’t stretch it too much and find something. There are many positive stories in the country and one shouldn’t go after such issues.”

Opposition leaders have claimed they are unable to reach Dhankhar. Senior lawyer, parliamentarian and former Congress politician Kapil Sibal has asked whether a habeas corpus petition should be filed in court for Dhankhar.

Congress communications chief Jairam Ramesh said Shah’s remarks had “added to the mystery”.

“Today the Home Minister has tried to say more. But he has only added to the mystery. There is simply no explanation why the irrepressible and ebullient Shri Dhankhar —who championed the cause of farmers — has been completely incommunicado for well over a month,” Ramesh said in a post on X.

“This entire resignation episode is actually bizarre and reflects how G2 functions,” he added, taking a dig at the alleged duopoly of Modi and Shah, who are both from Gujarat.

JPC boycott

Shah said the government would go ahead with the joint parliamentary committee that is to scrutinise three contentious bills, even if the Opposition did not participate in it.

He defended the bills, which provide for the removal of ministers, including the Prime Minister and chief ministers, if held in custody for 30 consecutive days. Opposition parties have termed the bills “unconstitutional” and “draconian”.

The Trinamool Congress, Aam Aadmi Party and the Shiv Sena (UBT) have refused to send members to the parliamentary panel. The Opposition knows that the most crucial among the three bills requires a constitutional amendment, which the BJP lacks the numbers to bring about.

Shah slammed the Opposition. “If you do not accept established rules to govern Parliament and say that our wish should be final, even though we are in the minority, this cannot happen,” he said.

“The government can give them a chance. If they don’t accept the chance, what can we do? The people who are there will work.”

Shah said the government and the country couldn’t be allowed to come to a halt just because the Opposition was refusing to cooperate.

He dismissed speculation that some NDA allies were against the three bills. He said the allies would have spoken in favour of the bills in the Lok Sabha but the Opposition didn’t allow any discussion.