Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar’s Remarks On Rahul Gandhi Surprising, Disappointing Says Jairam Ramesh

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Responding strongly to Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar’s ‘veiled attack’ at Rahul Gandhi’s Cambridge speech, senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Friday said the remarks by the Rajya Sabha Chairman were “surprising” as well as “disappointing”.

In a statement Jairam Ramesh said that in adherence to his Constitutional post Jagdeep Dhankhar should be at arms-length from the government.

The Congress leader also said that the speech by Rahul Gandhi in the United Kingdom was not different from what he has said several times on Indian shores.

“At an event held on March 9, 2023, to mark the launch of a book, the Hon’ble Vice President of India made certain remarks on Rahul Gandhi’s speech delivered in the United Kingdom. There are certain offices which require us to shed our prejudices, our party allegiances and compel us to rid ourselves of whatever propaganda we may have imbibed along the way.

“The office of the Vice President of India, an office on which the Constitution bestows the additional responsibility of being the Chair of the Rajya Sabha, is foremost amongst these. The Honourable Vice President’s statement on Shri Rahul Gandhi, therefore, was surprising, to say the least.

“He rushed to the defence of a government from which he is constitutionally required to be at arms-length and in a manner that was both confusing as well as disappointing. Shri Rahul Gandhi has not said anything abroad that he has not said several times here. And unlike certain other individuals, his stand does not vary depending on where he sits,” Jairam Ramesh said in a statement.