Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar, 74, resigned from his post citing health reasons on Monday (July 21, 2025).
“To prioritise health care and abide by medical advice, I hereby resign as the Vice President of India, effective immediately, in accordance with Article 67(a) of the Constitution,” the resignation letter addressed to President Droupadi Murmu, which was posted on the Vice-President’s official X account, said. He had called on President Murmu in the evening.
Watch: Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar resigns
Mr. Dhankhar had suffered a cardiac event in March but was said to have recovered and had been participating in his engagements since. The rest of the letter expressed his “deep gratitude” to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Council of Ministers as well as the “warmth, trust and affection” that he had received from MPs.
Mr. Dhankhar had been elected as India’s 14th Vice-President in August 2022, and has two years left in his term.
The move has come as a surprise to many leaders, as Mr. Dhankhar had presided over Rajya Sabha proceedings on the first half of the first day of the Monsoon Session of Parliament on Monday, which included an important intervention in the Opposition-sponsored motion for removal of High Court judge Justice Yashwant Varma. He didn’t return for the post-lunch Session but spoke to MPs and floor leaders till evening.
Several MPs that The Hindu spoke to said he didn’t give any indication of quitting. He also presided over the Business Advisory Committee meeting of the Upper House at 12:30 p.m. Sources say that he is unlikely to attend the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.
At 3:53 p.m., the Press Information Bureau had also issued a press release informing that Mr. Dhankhar is headed to Jaipur on a day-long visit, where he was to interact with the newly elected committee members of Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Association of India (CREDAI). A Congress leader said he spoke to Mr. Dhankhar at 7:30 p.m. and the Vice-President gave no indication about his decision.
Mr. Dhankhar, who had been Governor of West Bengal before being elected as Vice-President, had an eventful tenure especially in terms of his public speeches and his role as presiding officer of the Rajya Sabha.
In December 2024, Deputy Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha Harivansh Narayan Singh had dismissed a motion of impeachment against Mr. Dhankhar moved by the Opposition, calling it “a move to denigrate the dignity of a constitutional authority”, reflecting the somewhat testy relationship between the Opposition benches and himself.
As Vice-President, Mr. Dhankhar also spoke out freely on issues that mattered to him. Hailing from a rural, farming background, he spoke out for farmers and the need for a open dialogue as fresh protests by farmers came up in December 2024. While speaking at an event in Mumbai, where he shared the stage with Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Mr. Dhankhar had raised the need to open a dialogue with farmers.
President Murmu had not indicated whether she had accepted the resignation.
Among the decisions pending on Mr. Dhankhar’s table was the impeachment motion moved by 54 Opposition MPs in December last year against Allahabad High Court judge Justice Shekhar Yadav for allegedly making a hate speech. It was reported that the Rajya Sabha Secretariat was tallying and verifying the signatories of the motion. So far, at least 50 names, which is the minimum required figure, had been verified by the Upper House Secretariat. There is no time-frame for deciding on the notice submitted under the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968.
According to an Opposition MP, Mr. Dhankhar told him around 4:00 p.m. on Monday that he will speak in the House impeachment motions, both against Justice Yadav and Justice Varma.
Senior Congress leader and party’s chief whip in the Upper House, Jairam Ramesh said Mr. Dhankhar’s resignation was “inexplicable” and “shocking. In a post on X, he said, “I was with him alongside a number of other MPs till around 5 PM today and had spoken to him over the phone at 7:30 PM.”
He said while Mr. Dhankhar must give topmost priority to his health, there was far more to his totally unexpected resignation than meets the eye. “He was also to make some major announcements related to the judiciary tomorrow,” he added. Mr. Dhankhar had also fixed a meeting of the Business Advisory Committee tomorrow at 1 p.m.
While commending the Vice-President for taking both the government and the Opposition to task in equal measure, Mr. Ramesh hoped that Mr. Modi would get Mr. Dhankhar to change his mind. “This will be in the nation’s interest. The farming community particularly will be greatly relieved,” Mr. Ramesh said.
Published – July 21, 2025 09:51 pm IST
