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Insiders reveal that Dhankhar had a reputation for abrasive conduct with senior cabinet ministers, often humiliating them during official conversations
Sources said Dhankhar expected the government to reach out and persuade him to reconsider, but that call never came. File pic
In the dramatic turn of events leading to his resignation, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar’s strained relations with the union government are now surfacing through high-level sources.
Insiders reveal that Dhankhar had a reputation for abrasive conduct with senior cabinet ministers, often humiliating them during official conversations. In December last year, he purportedly publicly humiliated agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan at a function he presided over, criticising the government’s farmer policy. However, a day later, he called Chouhan the biggest well-wisher of the farming community on the floor of the house after top ministers met with him following his speech.
Sources said one incident that particularly irritated him occurred ahead of US Vice President JD Vance’s visit to India. Dhankhar insisted he was Vance’s “counterpart” and demanded to lead the most significant meeting with him. A senior cabinet minister intervened, reminding Dhankhar that Vance was delivering a direct message from the US President to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and protocol dictated otherwise.
In another breach of convention, Dhankhar reportedly asked ministers to place his portrait alongside those of the Prime Minister and the President in their official offices, raising eyebrows across government corridors.
Sources said he also repeatedly pushed for upgrading his official vehicle fleet entirely to Mercedes cars, a move viewed as extravagant and unnecessary by the government.
The final flashpoint came when, according to sources, Dhankhar arrived unannounced at the Rashtrapati Bhavan without any prior appointment. The President’s staff, caught off guard, informed her, and she took time to get ready due to the late hour. Dhankhar waited approximately 25 minutes before handing in his resignation during the unscheduled meeting.
Sources said Dhankhar expected the government to reach out and persuade him to reconsider, but that call never came. The message from the top was clear. The government had already decided—he had to go.
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