This week, Punjabi newspapers have given their opinion prominently this week on the sudden resignation of Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, acquitting all 12 accused from the Bombay High Court in the Mumbai serial train blast case.

On the resignation of the Vice President, ‘Punjabi Jagran’ published from Jalandhar writes- Many questions arising from the sudden resignation of the Vice President are correct and their answers should be found, but it is difficult to say whether the answers will be received or not. His resignation is also more amazing because he was active in the House during the day and he resigned at night, saying that he had to do so due to health reasons. There are speculations that there were differences between him and the government on an issue and then they increased to the extent that they thought it appropriate to resign. The newspaper writes- The resignation of the Vice President has come at a time when the BJP is struggling to choose its new president. Now the BJP will also have to find a candidate for the post of Vice President. It is obvious that Jagdeep Dhankhar has increased the problems of BJP. The ‘Rose Spokesman’ published from Chandigarh writes- Dhankhar started his political life from the Janata Dal and served as Minister of State in Prime Minister Chandrashekhar’s government. After the collapse of the Janata Dal, he joined the Congress. He was in BJP since 2003 and the same party made him the Governor of West Bengal in 2019. In August 2022, he won the Vice Presidential election as NDA candidate. ‘Ajit’, published from Jalandhar, writes- He was in the post of Vice President for the last three years, from time to time, other parties including the government were seen getting angry with the clear statements made by him. The incident has undoubtedly added a new and unique chapter to India’s parliamentary history. The ‘Deshsevak’ published from Chandigarh writes- Jagdeep Dhankhar, as the Vice President and the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, left no chance to implement the agenda of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the Bharatiya Janata Party. Earlier, Vice President V.V. Giri and R. Wakaterman resigned, but the reason for the resignation of both was special. It is not difficult to understand that the reason for the resignation of Dhankhar is not only health problems, but the real reason is being hidden. The ‘Ninth Jamana’ published from Jalandhar writes- Some MPs claim that Dhankhar already knew that their resignation would be sought, which is why they deliberately gave Kharge time to speak on the first day of the session. According to him, resignation was also written by a powerful leader, Dhankhar had only signed. He will turn 75 in May next year. Prime Minister Modi will turn 75 in September this year. The RSS has persuaded Dhankhar to resign to pressurize Narendra Modi to resign. The ‘Punjabi Tribune’ published from Chandigarh writes- The Vice President’s decision to resign is irony that the role of the opposition has changed. A few months ago, parties like Congress were demanding impeachment proceedings against him, accusing him of weakening constitutional values. Today, they are defending their reputation by claiming that there are deep reasons behind their departure. BJP’s silence is giving more air to this story. His critics saw him as a person who was blurring the line between constitutional fairness and party loyalty.

Also read: Dhankhar has been the most controversial governor and Vice President

The ‘Punjabi Tribune’ published from Chandigarh writes ‘Punjabi Tribune’ published from Chandigarh for acquitting all the 12 accused by the Bombay High Court in the 2006 Mumbai serial train blast case- the Mumbai train bomb blast was one of the most horrific terrorist attacks ever in India. The court said that the prosecution had failed to prove its crime. The newspaper writes- At a time when the NIA is interrogating the accused of the 26/11 attack, Tawwur Rana and the investigation of the Pahalgam attack is going on, Pakistan will be encouraged to question India’s investigative agencies. The ‘Aj Di Awaaz’ published from Jalandhar writes- The lower court gave its verdict after nearly 9 years, while the special bench of the Bombay High Court also took about 9 years to pronounce its verdict. In this legal digest, only the victims will be disadvantage, who will have to wait for justice. The newspaper writes- Our law is silent about those who have been in jail for 17 years without committing any crime. Are they not entitled to compensation to spend a large part of their life in jail without any mistake? ‘Punjabi Jagran’ published from Jalandhar writes- If our judicial system works so slow in the most serious cases of terrorism, then it cannot be claimed that India is strictly dealing with terrorism. At the same time, the international community can also raise the question as to why India’s investigative agencies and judicial systems are not alert and active even in serious cases of terrorism. ‘Rose Ashiana’ published from Patiala writes- This case is also a big question mark on the way the lower courts work. The Maharashtra government has appealed to the Supreme Court against the High Court’s decision. The country hopes that this time the facts will be introduced correctly.

‘Ajit’ published from Jalandhar writes ‘Ajit’ published from Jalandhar when the opposition’s uproar and functioning in the monsoon session of Parliament created so much uproar on the first day, while before the session there was a complete agreement that the participation of all parties would have a detailed discussion on important issues. The ‘Deshsevak’ published from Chandigarh writes- The opposition has been demanding for a long time that there should be open discussion about Pahalgam and its answers, Operation Sindoor. The opposition wants to know from the government what is the real motive behind the massive amendment in this delicate time in voter lists in Bihar. At the same time, a new question has now arisen regarding the sudden resignation of the Vice President. The newspaper writes- It seems that the proceedings of both houses will be postponed until the Prime Minister is present in Parliament. Published from Patiala writes ‘Carddikalan’- recently there have been clashes on issues like illegal infiltration and language disputes between the government and the opposition outside the Parliament, but it is expected that these clashes will be limited to positive debate within the House. The ‘Rose Ashiana’ published from Patiala writes, the opposition has set its agenda, but it should be taken care that the session does not get noise and uproar. The newspaper writes- In this case, this year’s budget session can be made an example. In the budget session, the productivity of Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha was 119 and 118 percent respectively. It costs more than 2.5 lakh rupees every minute to run the session. In such a situation, the non-running of the House is a waste of the resources of the country over time.

-Dr. Ashish Vashistha

freelance journalist

(The author has his own views in this article.)