Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Thursday cautioned against a "virtual intense warfare" on India's integrity by well-orchestrated global machinery and said their narratives are disseminated in such a high decibel that "activities of Goebbels pale into insignificance".
Addressing Network 18's Rising India Summit, he also said it was "unfortunate" that "legally sanctified crusade" against corruption is sought to be combated by partisan stance and individual concerns.
How can the issue of corruption be seen from political prism, he wondered. His remarks came in the backdrop of allegations by Opposition leaders that the government was targetting them using central investigation agencies.
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Dhankhar said India is proud of its judicial system. "Where on planet you'll get a Supreme Court which can act with lightening speed and grant relief when someone is accused of defamation? Where will you get a Supreme Court which will sit overtime ... the chief justice has unimpeccable credentials with global image," he said.
He asserted that no one in the world "has legitimacy or credentials to lesson us on this aspect". The vice president's remarks came in the wake of Germany saying it has 'taken note' of Rahul Gandhi's disqualification from Lok Sabha.
The issue led to a fresh political slugfest here on Thursday with the BJP accusing the Congress of "inviting foreign powers" to interfere in internal matters.The BJP attack came after senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh thanked the German foreign ministry and Richard Walker, Chief International Editor of Deutsche Welle, for "taking note of how democracy is being compromised in India through the persecution of Rahul Gandhi".
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Sharing a screenshot of Singh's tweet, Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju said, "Thank you Rahul Gandhi for inviting foreign powers for interference into India's internal matters."
People, the vice president cautioned, need to be cognizant of "virtual intense warfare against India's integrity by a well-orchestrated "global machinery functioning within and outside country". He said there were "sinister forces within and outside" working with pernicious agenda to sully and downsize India's growth trajectory, to run down its democratic institutions and rundown the nation's success.
Dhankhar said "an entire ecosystem" was working to handicap India's growth. "Attacking India's legitimacy as nation state, its constitutional institutions including the Parliament is becoming favourite pass time of even to some of us," he said.
He hoped people will check such tendencies.
He felt an intense assault on India's values, integrity and its institutions was emanating from well maintained incubators. "Such orchestrated narratives are disseminated in high decibel by section of media and intelligentsia that activities of Goebbels pales into insignificance," he said.
Goebbels was the propaganda minister of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. In an apparent dig at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's democracy remarks made in the UK, Dhankhar said one will not find a parallel in the world where people holding positions of power "would go to other country to run down their own country. We all need to reflect on this".
