Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar said on Wednesday that freedom of expression in India was not subject to any enforced silence and that “we cannot support those who in the country and outside tarnish, taint our growth trajectory and democratic values”.

Those who think that there was enforced silence on freedom of expression in India need to revise their opinion, Dhankhar said, addressing the 21st Convocation event of Dibrugarh University in Assam. “I need to question you, when all is going well, why some of us decry our democracy, why some of us inside and outside the country talk of unforced silence, say this country doesn’t have the democratic values,” the vice president said.

The comment of Dhankhar, who is also the Rajya Sabha chairman, comes in the backdrop of a parliamentary impasse in March over Congress leader Rahul Gandhi‘s comments in the UK where, the BJP alleges, he had questioned India’s democratic setup and maligned the country’s image.

India is the most vibrant and functional democracy as on date, Dhankhar said, adding: “No country in the world can claim to have a constitutional democratic mechanism for the village, municipalities, states and Parliament.”