Vice President Dhankhar questions certain NGOs' silence on Kolkata medic's rape, murder

Dehradun: Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Sunday questioned the silence of certain NGOs on the violence against a "health warrior" at Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, terming the incident as "barbarity expressed in extremity".

Addressing students and faculty members at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Rishikesh, the vice-president also said such barbaric incidents that put the entire civilisation to shame and shred what Bharat stood for should not be looked at through the prism of politics.

Criticising the selective silence of NGOs, Dhankhar said, "Certain NGOs on road for drop of a hat are in silence mode. We have to question them. Their silence is much worse than the culpable act of the perpetrators of this heinous crime." "Those who seek to play politics and earn brownie points are not responding to the call of their conscience," he added.

Lamenting the use of the term "symptomatic malaise" by some "stray voices", Dhankhar said such statements "aggravate our excruciating pain and add salt to our injured conscience".

"When humanity has been shamed, there are some stray voices, voices that cause concern. They only aggravate our excruciating pain. To put it mildly, they are adding salt to our injured conscience and what do they say 'it is a symptomatic malaise, a frequent incident'," the vice-president said.

"When it comes from someone who is a member of Parliament, a senior advocate, then the culpability is of an extreme degree. There can be no alibi for such kind of demonising thoughts. I call upon such misguided souls to revisit their thoughts and publicly tender an apology," he added.

Dhankhar also said this was not an occasion that should be looked at through a political prism.

"This political prism is a dangerous one, it kills your objectivity," he said.

Dhankhar also recognised his accountability to the medical fraternity and the country's women by virtue of his constitutional post.

"I am before you ... holding a constitutional position, I have to show my accountability, I have to justify the position I hold as vice-president and chairman of the Rajya Sabha," he said.

"Our heart is injured, our conscience is crying and our soul is seeking accountability," he added.

Referring to the work of medical professionals as 'nishkam seva (selfless service)', as pronounced by Lord Krishna, the vice-president also condemned acts of violence against them.

Expressing concern for the safety of doctors at the workplace, Dhankhar emphasised the need to bring a mechanism that protected "health warriors".

"A doctor can help only to a limit. A doctor cannot turn into god. He is next to god, so when somebody dies, out of emotive feelings and uncontrolled feelings, doctors are not given the treatment they deserve... security of the doctors, nurses, compounders, health warriors must be impregnably protected," he said.

Dhankhar also underlined the responsibility of society to prevent such incidents and develop a mechanism where women felt safe.

"Whoever has done it will be held accountable but the society is also to be held accountable. The society cannot escape its responsibility. I don't want to make it a matter of the government or a matter of political parties. It is a matter of the society," the vice-president said.

"It has shaken the very foundation of our existence. It has questioned what India stands for and stood for thousands of years," he added.