Mamata sceptical about V-P Dhankhar’s resignation, says ‘he is a healthy man’

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday (July 22, 2025) said she was unwilling to comment on Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar’s sudden resignation, citing health issues, but added that she believed the V-P’s condition was “absolutely fine”.

In a cryptic remark made during a press conference at the State secretariat Nabanna, Ms. Banerjee hinted there could be more to the development than what meets the eye.

“Political parties cannot decide why Mr. Dhankhar resigned. I have no comments on the issue,” the chief minister said.

“Let us watch. He is a healthy man. I think his health is absolutely fine,” she added.

Her comments came amid a political firestorm over the move of Mr. Dhankhar, former governor of West Bengal, which many in the Opposition claimed was “totally unexpected” and possibly driven by factors beyond the official line of “prioritising health care”.

In a letter addressed to President Droupadi Murmu on Monday evening, Mr. Dhankhar said he was resigning from the post of Vice President and ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha with immediate effect, citing medical reasons.

Mr. Dhankhar’s decision to resign as Vice-President on Monday night has triggered a firestorm of speculation on whether there was more to it than “to prioritise health care”, as his sudden move had capped a day of events in Rajya Sabha which took the government by surprise and put it in a damage-control mode.

The usual effusive praise that is showered on an occupant of a high office on his departure was missing from the ruling alliance’s side, an indication that the government was probably happy to see him go.

It was the Opposition, which had signed a notice to impeach him last year for his alleged biases, that had nice words for him.

“Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar’s resignation. Is health the only reason? If so, get well soon. Otherwise, curiosity remains.” TMC leader Kunal Ghosh posted on X.

Later, while speaking to reporters, Mr. Ghosh, known as a bitter critic of Mr. Dhankhar during his tenure as Bengal Governor, said, “We do not wish to comment on this, as our top leadership is observing the situation. He has cited health reasons, so we wish him good health.”

TMC MP and senior leader Sushmita Dev said he was quite “surprised” by Dhankhar’s sudden decision.

“I did see some news that he was not keeping well. But one did not imagine that it was serious enough for him to step down. I thought he would go on leave, recover and come back, so I was quite surprised by his decision,” she told a news channel.

Mr. Dhankhar, a known critic of the Mamata Banerjee administration during his gubernatorial tenure, had often been at the centre of confrontations with the TMC government before being elevated as Vice President in 2022.