Dhankhar totally silent for 100 days, farewell function has not happened: Congress

The Congress on Wednesday said former vice president Jagdeep Dhankhar has been “totally silent” for 100 days since his resignation and pointed out that the Opposition has been asserting that he deserves a farewell function like all his predecessors had but it has not happened.

Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said it has been exactly 100 days since an unprecedented event in Indian political history took place.

“Suddenly and shockingly, in the late hours of the night on July 21st, the Vice President of India Shri Jagdeep Dhankar resigned. That he was forced to do so —even though he sang the praises of the PM day in and day out — was obvious,” Ramesh said on X.

For 100 days, the former vice president who used to be in headlines daily has been totally “silent — unseen and unheard”, the Congress leader said.

Ramesh further said the former vice president, as Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, was no great friend of the Opposition.

“He used to pull up the Opposition constantly and unfairly. Yet, in keeping with democratic traditions, the Opposition has been saying that he deserves at least a farewell function like all his predecessors had. That has not happened,” Ramesh said.

After Dhankhar’s resignation, the Congress had claimed the reasons behind his resignation as vice president are “far deeper” than health issues cited by him. It had said his resignation speaks highly of him but poorly of those who got him elected to the post.

The opposition party had also asked the government to clarify the vice president’s resignation.

In a sudden move, Dhankhar resigned from his post on July 21, citing medical reasons. He sent his resignation to President Droupadi Murmu and said he is stepping down with immediate effect.

Dhankhar, 74, assumed office in August 2022 and his tenure was till 2027.

He was also the chairman of the Rajya Sabha and his resignation came on the first day of the Monsoon session of the Parliament.

In his eventful tenure as Rajya Sabha Chairman, Dhankhar had several run-ins with the Opposition, which had also moved a motion to impeach him.

The motion, the first ever in independent India to remove a vice president, was later rejected by Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh.

Chandrapuram Ponnusamy Radhakrishnan was on September 12 sworn in as the 15th vice president of India. Dhankhar was present at the ceremony, his first public appearance since his resignation as the vice president.