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'Big story behind why he's hiding...': Rahul Gandhi on Jagdeep Dhankhar resigning as VP
Rahul Gandhi said he heard about the VP's resignation in a phone call from Congress leader KC Venugopal, and said there was a “big story” behind the move.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday recalled hearing about Jagdeep Dhankhar stepping down as Vice President a few weeks back, and alleged there was a big story behind the move, and why the leader "was hiding".
Addressing the media, Gandhi said: “Just yesterday I was having a conversation with somebody and I said, you know, where is the old vice president gone? He's gone…”
The Congress leader said he heard about the resignation in a phone call from Congress leader KC Venugopal and that there was a “big story” behind the move. "Some of you might know it, some of you might not know it, but there's a story behind it, and then there's a story about why he's in hiding," Gandhi said.
Questioning why Dhankhar found himself in a position where "he cannot say a word", Rahul Gandhi further added, “Suddenly, the person who used to burst forth in the Rajya Sabha has gone silent, completely silent. So this is the time we're living in.”
Jagdeep Dhankhar resigned from the post of Vice President last month “to prioritise health care and abide by medical advice", triggering several theories behind the move. Some people familiar with the matter had said at the time that Dhankhar had asked some Opposition leaders to give a notice for the impeachment of justice Yashwant Varma, caught at the centre of the cash-at-home row, in the Rajya Sabha, even as the Centre wanted to bring the notice to only be brought in the Lok Sabha.
Dhankhar, 74, had been holding the post of Vice President since 2022 and his tenure was scheduled to end in 2027.
After the post fell vacant following Dhankhar's resignation, Vice President polls were announced, scheduled for September 9. Both, the NDA-led government, and the Opposition, has named candidates for the elections.
While CP Radhakrishnan, the governor of Maharashtra, is the NDA's pick, former Supreme Court judge B Sudershan Reddy will be the Opposition’s candidate for the vice-presidential election.
