"135 Crore Laughing, We Are Not Children": Vice-President J Dhankhar In Parliament

Incensed at "both sides" disrupting each other, Jagdeep Dhankhar, who is also the Rajya Sabha Chairperson, says "people outside are disillusioned"

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar today stood up in the Rajya Sabha to remind the members that "we are not children" during chaos over Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge's recent comment on the BJP and RSS's "total lack of contribution" to the Independence struggle.

"We are setting a very bad example," Mr Dhankhar, who is also the Rajya Sabha Chairperson, said, "People outside are disillusioned. This kind of display... gives us a very, very bad name."

Standing up and pointing to the ruling and Opposition benches by turn, he sought to make a point amid the shouting, but had to seek "one second" repeatedly before he could say, "Even the observations of the Chair which are wholesome are indigestible. What a painful scenario we are having. Trust me, 135 crore people are laughing at us. They are thinking, wondering — what level have we fallen to."

Mr Dhankhar was incensed when BJP-led ruling alliance members disrupted Leader of Opposition and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, who later repeated his assertion minus the dog analogy he'd used at a rally in Rajasthan.