New Delhi, Dec 13 (PTI) Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairperson Jagdeep Dhankhar's Jat origin became a matter of brief and light-hearted discussion in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday when Rajeev Shukla called him the "biggest example" of social engineering.

Shukla said that no Jat leader has occupied the position of Vice President, and added, there is no bigger symbol of social engineering, as Dhankhar looked on smilingly.

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BJP member Ghanshyam Tiwari praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership, saying it was on his watch that a Jat became the country's Vice President.

He has risen from Shekhawati, a region from Rajasthan, and it is good fortune of the state, Tiwari added.

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Dhankhar, who comes from a humble background and who started his career as a lawyer, was picked by the ruling party as its vice presidential candidate in 2021 and was elected in a facile contest with opposition's nominee Margaret Alva.

The party had hailed him as a "kisan putra" and political watchers believed that his choice was driven also by his Jat background, as the community is politically important in states like Rajasthan, Haryana, and parts of Uttar Pradesh. PTI KR

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)