Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Sunday raised concern over what he termed were “incubators and distributors” of anti-India forces that were spreading “pernicious narratives” at a time the country was on the rise. Dhankhar, speaking at the release of former Tamil Nadu governor P S Ramamohan Rao’s memoir 'Governorpet to Governor's House; A Hick's Odyssey’ in Delhi, echoed his predecessor Venkaiah Naidu, who spoke before him at the event. “As pointed out by Sh. Venkaiah Naidu-ji, India is on rise as never before and the rise is unstoppable…This rise is with challenges from within and without. It is here that the intelligentsia and people from media come into picture. We all need to be cognizant of emergence of incubators and distributors of anti-India forces orchestrating pernicious narratives to downsize our growth trajectory and taint our functional democracy and constitutional institutions,” the Vice President said. He called on everyone to believe in the nation and nationalism and neutralise “such misadventures”. He went on to stress the importance of equality under law, saying no one was above the law. “In a democracy, all are similarly accountable to law. No one can have privileged consideration by law, else democracy will cease to exist. Some people unfortunately think they are different or are to be dealt with differently. Ours is the most vibrant and functional democracy. Equality is something which we can never negotiate. Adherence to law is not optional. Some people have to realise it,” he said. Dhankhar’s comments come at a time the BJP has been attacking Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his statements during a recent trip to the United Kingdom. Returning to a topic he has spoken about several times since becoming the Vice President, Dhankhar spoke of the relationship between the executive, the legislature and judiciary. “In democracy, dynamics of governance will always be challenging, requiring harmonious functioning of Constitutional institutions. The legislature, the executive and the judiciary — there will always be issues and we shall never have a day when we can say henceforth, there will be no issues. We are a dynamic society it is bound to happen. There is no room for confrontation or being a complainant by those who head these institutions. Those who are heading executive, legislature or judiciary, they cannot be complacent, they cannot act in confrontation. They have to act in collaboration and find resolution together,” he said. He said he felt the need for a “structured mechanism” for interaction for those who head the three organs of the state, instead of using their own platforms for dialogue with the other institution. Citing the author’s experience as an IPS officer before his stint as governor, Dhankhar said the relationship between the bureaucracy and the political executive was becoming challenging. “The steel frame, the bureaucracy has come to be so ingratiated with the political masters that the 1968 Rules that govern your conduct are more often than not in complete breach,” he said. Earlier, Naidu said the world was looking to India and cautioned against doing or saying anything that undermines the country’s interest. “Insulting our democracy amounts to disrespecting our rich civilisation and vibrant traditions manifesting over the last 75 years,” he said. He added that democracy stood its ground through Emergency. “Political differences should not be allowed to belittle India,” he said.
