In India’s often-theatrical political landscape, it is not the noise but the silence that sometimes says the most. The resignation of Mr Jagdeep Dhankhar as Vice President has created precisely that kind of unsettling silence ~ one that grows more deafening with every evasive statement and conspicuous omission.

The official explanation, citing health reasons, barely holds up to scrutiny when weighed against the sequence of events leading to his departure. Until hours before his resignation, Mr Dhankhar was actively engaged in high-level parliamentary work. As Rajya Sabha Chairman, he convened two Business Advisory Committee meetings and scheduled another over lunch for the following day. This is not the behaviour of someone preparing to step down for health reasons.

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The sudden cancellation of the second BAC meeting ~ reportedly because senior ministers failed to show up, without even the courtesy of informing him ~ raises........

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