Veep's "Forces Not Accountable To Constitution" Jibe Amid Parliament Logjam

Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Sunday cautioned that if Parliament does not engage in dialogue and discussion and is plagued by disruption, the space will not remain vacant and will be occupied by forces that are not accountable to the Constitution.

His remarks came amid daily disruption of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha proceedings during the ongoing Monsoon session over ethnic violence in Manipur.

Mr Dhankhar, who is also the chairman of Rajya Sabha, said that "some among us make sinister efforts with pernicious motivations to taint, tarnish, demean our institutions".

He urged people to be judgmental about such forces and said citizens should never hesitate in neutralising the "anti-Bharat narrative".

"You'll have to speak out your mind to defeat sinister forces that think otherwise," he said while addressing a Culture Ministry event here.

Describing Parliament as the temple of democracy where debate, discussion and dialogue have to take place, the vice-president said that no one expects disturbance and disruptions in the House.

Noting that there are enormously talented people in Parliament,  Mr Dhankhar said they bring huge experience to the table and as Chairman of Rajya Sabha, he wants that talent to be utilised for national purpose.

"But if our temples of democracy do not engage in dialogue and discussion and they are plagued by disruption and disturbance, the space is not going to be vacant. It'll be occupied by forces that are not accountable to the Constitution," he warned.

He urged people to use their power as citizens of the country so that an ecosystem is generated to keep the nation first and above everything else.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)