NEW DELHI: Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar expressed pain and displeasure in the House on Thursday over the way he was targeted by the opposition for the manner in which he greeted PM Narendra
Modi at a public event this week.
Defending his extended namaste to the PM in a video clip that was uploaded by social media handles related to Congress, Dhankhar said he had been deeply hurt by the comments made by some political parties and that it was part of his nature to bow his head and greet people with folded hands.
Dhankhar, who had earlier described Modi as a "yugpurush" of this century, said he greeted others too in the same manner and that he wanted to maintain his humility, while opposition parties were ridiculing a traditional Indian practice.
As the House assembled in the morning, Dhankhar greeted members with folded hands and went on to say, "I'm having to be careful about how much should I bend and before whom. Where is the photographer clicking from? Who will put it on Instagram or Twitter (X)? Who will start to measure my spine? I don't go by who's standing in front of me. It is my habit. But it's painful on many occasions."
"It is our cultural heritage to bow while greeting someone. Dignity of the office is maintained when you bow more. And this pain has been given to me by those people who I respect a lot," Dhankhar added. TNN