Jagdeep Dhankhar, who stepped down as vice president last month citing health reasons, has reportedly shifted to a farmhouse of Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) chief Abhay Singh Chautala in south Delhi’s Chattarpur on Monday.
It was the first time he was spotted in public after vacating the vice president’s official residence, sources said. They also said Dhankhar apprised the security agencies that he would shift to the farmhouse in the evening. Many of his belongings were already shifted, sources said.
When contacted, Chautala confirmed that Dhankar is shifting to his farmhouse. “We have old family relations, and he did not ask me for a house; I offered him one,” he said.
An official said Dhankhar will stay in the private farmhouse as an interim arrangement until he is allocated a Type-VIII official residence, which he is entitled to as a former vice president.
Dhankhar resigned from his post on July 21, the first day of the Monsoon session, citing health reasons, and has since stayed out of the public eye. He has been staying at the Vice-President’s Enclave near Parliament House till now.
Sources close to Dhankhar said he was spending time with his family, playing table tennis and practicing yoga.
Dhankhar, who was known to be quite vocal during his tenures, including as presiding officer of the Rajya Sabha, has largely remained out of public view since his resignation, fuelling speculations about his future political moves. The Opposition parties have repeatedly questioned his absence. At the same time, former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot demanded clarity, arguing that the people in Rajasthan were keen to know about his condition and circumstances.
A day earlier, he had also sought resumption of his pension from the Rajasthan Assembly as an erstwhile legislator, where he represented Ajmer district’s Kishangarh constituency between 1993 and 1998. Dhankhar’s pension was discontinued in 2019 after he was appointed the Governor of West Bengal.
The former VP also served as the Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs in the Chandrashekhar Governmentfollowing his election as a Janata Dal MP from Jhunjhunu in 1989. He joined the BJP in 2003.
Sources in the Rajasthan Assembly Secretariat said that the process for examining and approving the application had been initiated as per the rules. “The pension payable to Dhankhar will be applicable from the date on which his resignation as the Vice-President was accepted,” according to the sources.
The MLAs in Rajasthan who have served a full term are entitled to get the pension of Rs 35,000 per month, which goes up with additional terms and age. Those above 70 years of age receive a 20 percent hike. Dhankhar’s five-year tenure makes him eligible for a monthly pension of Rs 42,000 in addition to facilities such as medical care and travel allowance. The pension from the State Assembly payable to Dhankhar will be in addition to the pension he will draw as the former vice president and an ex-MP.
An election to pick his successor is scheduled to take place on September 9. In the vice-presidential election, NDA pick CP Radhakrishnan, the governor of Maharashtra, is pitted against Opposition nominee B Sudershan Reddy, a former Supreme Court judge. Dhankhar’s term as the vice-president was to end on August 10, 2027.