On the last of the Parliament Special Session, Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar spoke on the issue of the absence of President Droupadi Murmu from the inauguration of the new Parliament building being highlighted by Congress MPs. He clarified that “no disrespect had been shown” to the President.

Referring to the Constitution, Dhankhar stated, “Please recall the first amendment of the Constitution. The framers of the Constitution included a provision stating that the President will address every session of the House. The amendment was made to make it once a year. The President has to act in accordance with the Constitution.”

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This statement was made in response to remarks made by Congress leader KC Venugopal during a heated discussion over the Women’s Reservation Bill in the Rajya Sabha.

Venugopal had said, “When this new Parliament building was being inaugurated, we all expected that the President and the Vice President would be there. It is an insult to us that our chairman was not there, our President was not there.”

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Dhankhar interrupted him and said, “We cannot dwell on deficiencies or remain ignorant of the facts. Let me clarify that the Vice President and the President are held in the highest regard in the country, and there has been no Constitutional transgression.”

He further added, “The positions of the President and the Vice President are clearly defined in the Constitution, and these roles have been categorically defined. I can assure you that your Chairman will not allow anyone to undermine his authority. Please dispel any misconceptions.”

To this, Venugopal replied, “I respect your position. All I was saying is that people expected the President and the Vice President to be present.”