West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday expressed scepticism over Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar’s resignation, and said “his health is absolutely fine”.

Dhankhar resigned on the very first day of the Monsoon session of Parliament. His resignation was immediately accepted by President Droupadi Murmu.

When she was asked about the resignation of Dhankhar, who was earlier Governor of West Bengal, Mamata said, “Political parties cannot decide why Mr Dhankhar resigned. I don’t want to comment on this. I don’t know what is happening behind (the scene). Let’s see. He (Dhankhar) is a healthy man. His health is absolutely fine.”

The TMC government had a tumultuous relationship with Dhankhar, when he was the Governor of West Bengal. Dhankhar had often been at the centre of confrontations with the TMC government before being elevated as the Vice-President in 2022.

“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.

A bitter critic of Dhankhar during his tenure as Bengal Governor, Ghosh 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.

With PTI