'Daal mein kuch kaala hai': Kharge asks govt to clarify on Dhankhar's resignation as VP

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday claimed that there is something fishy about Jagdeep Dhankhar's resignation as the vice president and asked the government to clarify on it.

Kharge claimed that Dhankhar used to "defend" the BJP and the RSS more than the the BJP-RSS people themselves, but still had to resign.

"The government must answer why he resigned, what are the reasons, what is the secret behind it. We feel that 'daal mein kuch kaala hai (there is something fishy)'. He seems healthy and always keeps a good vocabulary. But what happened? He used to defend the BJP and the RSS more than the BJP-RSS people themselves," the Congress president said.

Such was Dhankhar's loyalty towards the BJP-RSS, Kharge added.

"At such a time, he has given his resignation, so the country should be informed what is the reason and who is behind this?" he told reporters.

On RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat's remarks exhorting people to imbibe 'Indianness' and show the world the answers to all problems it is facing, Kharge said they are rewriting history.

"Jawaharlal Nehru wrote Discovery of India but they reject that. They also reject what our professors of history say. Their history is different and the history of the country is different," Kharge said.

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

The Congress on Tuesday claimed the reasons behind Dhankhar's resignation as vice president are "far deeper" than health issues cited by him, and said his resignation speaks highly of him but poorly of those who got him elected to the post.

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 Parliament.

Dhankhar had recently undergone angioplasty at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi.

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

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