Cong demands farewell for former VP Dhankhar amid resignation row

New Delhi: The Congress party has urged the government to organise a farewell function for former Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, whose abrupt resignation has drawn sharp questions from the Opposition. However, the demand has so far been met with silence from the government benches.

The issue was raised by senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh during a meeting of the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) held on Wednesday evening. According to sources, Union ministers J. P. Nadda and Kiren Rijiju, who were present at the meeting, did not respond to the proposal. No other opposition parties supported the demand either, the sources added.

The Congress has repeatedly called for a "dignified farewell" for Dhankhar, who served three years in office. The party has also been pressing the government for answers regarding the sudden nature of his resignation.

Alleging political pressure, the Congress claims Dhankhar was "forced" to step down after he accepted a motion signed by Opposition MPs seeking the removal of Justice Yashwant Varma. The judge came under scrutiny after charred bundles of currency notes were reportedly found at his residence several months ago.

The farewell demand for Dhankhar comes at a time when the Rajya Sabha is officially bidding adieu to six of its outgoing members on Thursday — Ambumani Ramadoss, Vaiko, P. Wilson, M. Shanmugam, M. Mohammed Abdulla, and N. Chandrasegharan.

With PTI inputs