New Delhi: Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar hit out at Congress MP Rahul Gandhi over his recent remarks on reservation while in the US.
While addressing participants of the third batch of the Rajya Sabha Internship Programme at Parliament House on Thursday, Dhankhar said that every Indian outside the country has to be an ambassador of this nation.
The Vice President said that he was "pained and disturbed that some people in position have no idea" of Bharat. "They have no idea of our Constitution, they have no idea of our national interest. How painful that one who holds a Constitutional position is doing just the reverse of it! Nothing can be more condemnable, despicable and intolerable than that you become part of enemies of the nation!" Dhankhar said.
"I am sure your heart must be bleeding at what you see. If we are true Bhartiyas, if we believe in our nation, we will never side with the enemies of the nation. We will all stand stiffly for the nation," he added. He further emphasised the sacrifices of brave hearts and said that "we can't ridicule our nationalism."
"Imagine, ultimate sacrifice has been given by how many to get this freedom, in protecting this freedom, in protecting the nation! Our brothers and sisters are also involved in combat positions. Mothers have lost their sons, and wives have lost their husbands," Dhankhar said. The Vice President alleged that some people "want to divide our nation" and called it "ignorance in extremity."
"They do not understand the value of freedom. They do not understand that this country has a civilizational depth of 5000 years. Let me invite your attention first to our Constitution. This Constitution is sacred. It was structured over three years of painstaking work by the founding fathers of the Constitution, and the members of the Constituent Assembly, over 18 sessions, without disruption, without disturbance, without sloganeering, without any posters being raised. It worked through the mechanism of debate, dialogue, discussion and deliberation. Challenges, boys and girls before them, were Himalayan, insurmountable. The issues were divisive, there could not be an easy consensus. They worked for it, they work for us. And now, some people want to divide our nation. This is ignorance in extremity," he added.
On September 9, the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, said that the Congress party will think of scrapping reservations when India becomes a "fair place," which it is not. The Congress leader was interacting with students and faculty at Georgetown University in Washington, DC.
He also reiterated the need to conduct a caste census while saying that 90 per cent of the country's population--OBCs, Dalits and Adivasis--not having proper representation in the country is the "elephant in the room." Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that it has become a habit for the Congress leader to stand with "forces that conspire to divide the country." Shah also stated that the BJP won't let anyone abolish the reservation and hamper the nation's security.
He further alleged that Rahul Gandhi's statements show his divisive policies. Union Minister Piyush Goyal said that the Congress leader is defaming India on foreign soil in 'absolutely shameful manner'. Piyush Goyal questioned Gandhi's reasoning over his statements and accused Congress of propagating a "well-thought agenda to attack" PM Modi.
