Expressing concern over the disruption of Parliamentary proceedings, Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar said on Thursday that parliamentarians are expected to demonstrate by conduct in an exemplary fashion that is worth emulation by others.

“I have no doubt if Parliament does not become a nerve centre of dialogue, debate and discussion, if issues of the people are not adverted in Parliament, because that is the call of environment in democracy, then Parliament will slide into irrelevance. If Parliament slides into irrelevance, we will have serious threat to our democratic values. They are required to be nurtured,” the Vice-President said while addressing the Indian Forest Service (IFS) probationers at the Parliament House Annexe here.

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He said people work very hard during elections to choose their representatives. “They do it with a dream, with an object that these people will deliver for us. Our aspirations will help realise our ambitions by engaging in policy making. If these temples are disturbed, disrupted, there’s no dialogue, no discussion, then I can say it is antithetical to our national value system. It is not in consonance with democratic values and surely it does not contribute to national growth,” the Vice-President said.

He cautioned against viewing developmental or environmental issues through a political prism. “If we start looking through a political prism at issues of national security or development, we are not true to our oath of the Constitution. It requires all of us to have a steadfast commitment to nationalism. We have to keep national interest always first,” he emphasised.

Recognising the Indian Forest Service as one of the three All India Services, he encouraged the probationers to focus on India’s civilizational roots, adding, “In our ethos, in our Vedas, Puranas, and Upanishads, you would find that we have worshipped nature. We have had a real relationship with wildlife.”