Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Kalyan Banerjee, who once mimicked then Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Wednesday alleged that the latter was forced to resign by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Cabinet Ministers.
The TMC leader further claimed that Dhankhar, who tendered his resignation as Vice President on Monday night, was threatened with impeachment.
“Jagdeep Dhankhar was forced to resign by the Prime Minister and other Cabinet ministers. He was threatened that if he didn’t resign before 9 pm on that day, an impeachment motion would be brought against him,” he told media persons in Parliament premises today.
Banerjee further remarked that Dhankhar’s resignation was a result of a pressure tactic by PM Modi and his minister to make Rajnath Singh the vice president.
“This is a pressure tactic by the PM and other Cabinet ministers. It is being heard that now Rajnath Singh will be made vice president,” he added.
His remarks came amid intense speculations over the sudden and unexpected resignation of Dhankhar.
Eyebrows were raised by the Opposition over Dhankhar’s decision, with the Principal Opposition, Congress, claiming there is more to it than meets the eye in the Vice-President’s resignation.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said today that he can sense something is fishy and the government should tell why Dhankhar resigned.
“The government should answer why he resigned. I can see ‘dal mein kuch kaala hai.’ His health is fine. He used to defend RSS and BJP always. Who and what is behind his resignation should be known to the country,” Kharge told reporters in Delhi.
In his resignation letter addressed to President Droupadi Murmu, Dhankhar cited health reasons behind his decision to step down as vice president.
“To prioritise health care and abide by medical advice, I hereby resign as Vice President of India, effective immediately, in accordance with Article 67(a) of the Constitution,” the letter said.