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Arguing that a Uniform Civil Code would bind the country together, Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Tuesday said any further delay in implementing the UCC would be “corrosive to our values”.
Dhankhar was speaking at the 25th convocation of the Indian Institute of Technology-Guwahati when he invited the attention of the new graduates to the topic of the UCC.
“Our Constitution was given to us by very wise and sagacious people, Dr. B R. Ambedkar was the Chairman of the Drafting Committee and they had included a very important part in the Constitution with respect to Directive Principles of State Policy. They were certain that these principles are fundamental in governance of the country…It is the duty of the state to apply these principles in making laws,” Dhankhar said.
He said the panchayati raj system, the cooperatives and the right to education had all flowed from the directive principles of state policy.
“In that premise, I am somewhat stunned by the reaction of people, when there is a thought afloat, that something should be done with respect to directive principle under Article 44 and that is ‘The state shall endeavour to secure for citizens a Uniform Civil Code throughout the territory of India’. Now, I can tell after 30 years, I am sure that the situation must have come, any further delay in implementation of Uniform Civil Code will be corrosive of our values,” the V-P said.
He added that the UCC would “bind Bharat, it’s nationalism more effectively – this was the thought process of the founding fathers of the Constitution. Friends, just reflect and think about it, there can be no premise or rationale to impede or delay the implementation of Directive Principles when we are in Amrit Kaal.”
He went on to tell the graduates to work with “economic nationalism” in mind and that fiscal gains alone should not become the guiding factor.
The V-P hit out at what he termed were “anti-Bharat” narratives and warned against foreign actors affecting India’s reputation.
“Friends, no foreign entity can be allowed to tweak with our sovereignty and reputation…We cannot be on the back foot when it comes to our sovereignty and reputation. We cannot suffer taint on our flourishing and blossoming democracy and constitutional institutions…It is a matter of concern that with periodic frequency and in strategic mode there is orchestration of anti-national narratives and objective is to tarnish and taint our image. It is high time the choreographers of anti-Bharat narrative orchestration are effectively rebuffed,” he said, calling on young minds to do so.
Dhankhar said there was a zero-tolerance approach towards corruption now and asked the young graduates to not remain silent on the matter.
“A corruption-free society is the safest guarantee to your growth trajectory. I would therefore urge every person present here, particularly my young friends, boys and girls, you have the capacity to discern, and you have the capacity to find out what is right and wrong, but please don’t observe silence. Your silence can be too costly for the nation,” he said.
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