Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Sunday termed the violence committed against a “health warrior” at Kolkata’s RG Kar Hospital on August 9 as “barbarity expressed in extremity”.

Addressing students and faculty members at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Rishikesh, the vice president said such barbaric incidents put the entire civilisation to shame and shreds what Bharat stands for.

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’.

“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 apology. This is not an occasion where you should be looking through political prism. This political prism is a dangerous one, it kills your objectivity,” he added.

Recognising his accountability to the medical fraternity and the country’s women by virtue of his constitutional post, Dhankhar said, “I am before you. As a matter of fact holding a constitutional position, I have to show my accountability, I have to justify the position I hold as vice president and chairman Rajya Sabha.”

“... 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’ as pronounced by Lord Krishna without any expectation just doing their duty, the VP condemned acts of violence against the doctors in any form.

Expressing his concern for the safety of doctors at workplace, he emphasised upon the need to bring out a mechanism where “health warriors” are protected.

“A doctor can help only to a limit. A doctor cannot convert himself to 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 added.

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 perpetrators of this heinous crime on August 9, 2024. Those who seek to play politics and earn brownie points, are not responding to the call of their conscience”.

Underlining the responsibility of society to prevent such incidents and develop a mechanism where women feel safe, the vice president said, “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...

 “It has shaken the very foundation of our existence. It has questioned what India stands for and stood for thousands of years”.