Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar hit out at Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, who recently mocked Mr. Dhankhar for his frequent visits to the poll-bound State. Without naming the Chief Minister, Mr. Dhankhar, said the person who was questioning him had “neither read the Constitution nor the law”, and asked which law prohibits the Vice-President from visiting any Indian State.
Mr. Gehlot had recently accused Mr. Dhankhar of “making light of the Constitutional position” and criticised his visits, calling it detrimental for democracy.
Mr. Dhankhar, while making a speech at Mody University of Science and Technology in Laxmangarh, Rajasthan, said that people criticising him should know that Vice-President’s tours are planned much in advance and after careful contemplation.
“I don’t know why they are saying that? I was a little surprised because the person saying this had neither read the Constitution or the law, nor he has kept the dignity of his post,” he said while demanding to know which law prohibits him from visiting Rajasthan.
He said all his visits were on invitation from various organisations and the Central government. “The State government has not organised any program nor did they invite me for any. I have no problem, it is their discretion,” he added.
“The ‘Mody’ name itself is powerful and the name is enough to make everything possible,” Mr. Dhankhar said, drawing a veiled attention to homonymic nature of the University’s name and the Prime Minister Modi.
Mr. Gehlot is not the only Opposition leader to call out the Vice-President’s visits to Rajasthan. On September 21, in the Rajya Sabha during a debate on the women’s reservation Bill, Leader of Opposition and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge had also pointed out that Mr. Dhankhar had dropped hints about the Bill in a speech in Rajasthan, nearly two weeks before the legislation came to Parliament.
