V-P slams Rahul, says it 'painful' when people try to tarnish India's image

"Any person, who has the best interests of the country at heart, will always speak about the strides that India is making and where it should improve," he added

In a veiled attack on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his "Indian democracy is under attack" remark in London, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Friday said it is painful when some people "try to tarnish the image of rising India on foreign land".

Speaking at an event to mark social reformer Swami Dayanand Saraswati's birth anniversary in Delhi on Friday, Dhankhar said, "It is painful when some people among us try to tarnish the image of a rising India on foreign land. This has to be stopped."

"Any person, who has the best interests of the country at heart, will always speak about the strides that India is making and where it should improve. I believe that our leaders should work on addressing the shortcomings or areas where we are lacking instead of criticising the country on foreign soil," the Vice President said.

Further voicing his displeasure over the remarks that he claimed were intended to sully the country's image on foreign shores, Dhankhar invoked Swami Dayanand's words about India's independence and his resistance to foreign rule and occupation.

Earlier, Rahul hit the headlines over his lecture at London's prestigious Cambridge University, claiming that the Indian democracy was "under attack" on the watch of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"Everybody knows and it's been in the news a lot that Indian democracy is under pressure and under attack. I am an Opposition leader in India, we are navigating that (Opposition) space," Rahul said in his Cambridge address.

"The institutional framework, which is required for a democratic Parliament, free press, the judiciary, just the idea of mobilisation, moving around all are getting constrained. So, we are facing an attack on the basic structure of Indian democracy," he had added.