Days after Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Kalyan Banerjee’s mimicry of him, Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Sunday called himself a “sufferer”, and added that he would always proceed on the path of righteousness.
Dhankhar, who is also the chairman of Rajya Sabha, made the statement during an interaction with the Indian Statistical Service probationers of the 2023 batch at the Upa-Rashtrapati Nivas here.
A video of the TMC parliamentarian mimicking the Rajya Sabha chairman had gone viral on social media on Tuesday. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was seen recording the moment in the video.
In an apparent reference to the incident, the VP said, “Even in my constitutional position as chairman of the Rajya Sabha and vice-president, people don’t spare me. Should that change my mindset? No. Should that result in a deviation from my path? No. On the path of righteousness, we must always proceed.”
“I am a sufferer. A sufferer knows how to withstand inside, take all fronts, all insults with one direction – we are in the service of our Bharat Mata,” he added.
Without naming anyone, the VP said, “Never be deterred by those who have poor digestive systems for our growth. They are chronic critics. Nothing is more dangerous than a knowledgeable man, he knows the truth but he does not speak it.”
“We must take pride in our achievements. While the world is praising us, some us, out of design or ignorance seek to demean us. Never be worried about it,” said Dhankhar.
He further said, “We have to believe in our nation. Our nation is our foremost priority. We are proud citizens of the Bharat and Bhartiyata is our culture.”
The VP lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying his achievements are stupendous. “We are lucky to have a prime minister who is passionate about development, who has a mission that our Bharat should be taken to 2047 as a developed nation. He is in mission mode, and his achievements are stupendous. The global authorities have recognized it. When we look around, the IMF and World Bank, all prefer India. India is taken to the favourite destination for investment and opportunities,” Dhankhar said.
Referring to the current regime, the VP said, “Look at our situation where we were in terms of the economy just 10 years back. Now, we have overtaken the UK and France. Japan and Germany are next by 2030. But these accomplishments will get a qualitative edge with your contribution.”