Prioritise national interest over politics, V-P Dhankhar tells parties
'I appeal to everyone in the political spectrum, please have mutual respect. Please don't trade unbecoming language on television or otherwise against the leadership of one party or the other,' he said, while addressing the inaugural programme for the eighth batch of participants of the Rajya Sabha Internship Programme (RSIP) at the Vice-President's Enclave on Sunday (July 20, 2025).
Mr. Dhankhar said a thriving democracy can not afford an atmosphere of constant acrimony. 'Every Indian political party and every parliamentarian, to my knowledge, is a nationalist at the end of the day. He believes in the nation. He believes in the progress of the nation…,' he said.
Against the backdrop of Opposition parties demanding a detailed discussion on Operation Sindoor and U.S. President Donald Trump's repeated claims of brokering peace between India and Pakistan during the recent conflict, the Vice-President said that politics should not be prioritised over national interest.
'Let us not have politics when it is an issue of national security, national concern and that can happen because India has to stand proud amongst the comity of nations. We are well regarded in the world. The very idea that Bharat can be controlled from outside goes against our claim. We are a nation, a sovereign nation. Why should our political agenda be set by forces that are inimical to Bharat? Why should our agenda be even influenced by our enemies?' he said.
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