Dibrugarh/Imphal, 3 May: India is the world’s most vibrant democracy and its image cannot be allowed to be tainted or tarnished by anyone, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar said on Wednesday.
Some people are trying to tarnish India’s democratic image outside the country by spreading a false narrative that people do not enjoy their rights, Dhankhar said while addressing the 21st convocation of the Dibrugarh University here.
“When all is going well, why should some decry our democracy, talk outside as well as inside the country that we do not have democratic values? I dare say with confidence and without fear of contradictions, India is the most vibrant functional democracy on the planet on this date,” he said, without naming anyone.
He urged the students that they must find a way out so that such “pernicious and sinister narratives are nipped in the bud”.
He appealed to students, youth, intelligentsia and media to act as “ambassadors of the country, believe in nationalism and run down this narrative”.
“This is a narrative with no factual basis and we cannot support those who inside and outside the country, tarnish and taint our growth trajectory and democratic values,” he said.
The Vice President also said that the Parliament is a “place for dialogue, discussion and debate” and not a place for disruption and disturbances.
Dhankhar claimed that such false narratives are emanating from a few universities outside the country, including in the United States, where some Indian students and faculty criticise their own country.
“You will find a few politicians who will trot around the globe and criticise their country but this is not India’s culture. Our former prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, when in opposition, was selected by then Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao to represent the country. This is our culture and we have to believe in our motherland and subscribe to the sublimity of our nationalism,” he said. (PTI)
Though Dhankhar did not take any names, in the past similar allegations had been made by the BJP against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for having criticised the government in lectures abroad.
Parliament is a place for dialogue, deliberation, discussion and debate and not a place for disruption and disturbances, the Vice President said.
He asked, “How can we weaponise disruption and disturbances as a political tool? How can we allow this hallowed theatre to be polluted?”
It is time that an ecosystem is created so that Parliamentarians respond positively to the spirit and essence of the Constitution, Dhankhar said.
He said that India has emerged as the fastest-growing economy in the world and is now a favoured destination for investments.
“We are now the fifth largest global economy and what is indeed a matter of pride is that we overtook our erstwhile colonial masters. We hope to become the third largest economy of the world by the turn of the current decade,” he said.
The Vice President said that the year 2014 was a watershed in India’s political history with the nation being respected over the world.
“There has been a new mantra of governance which is less government and more governance coupled with visionary planning and execution,” Dhankhar added.
In another programme at Dhanamanjuri University in Manipur, he said the tiny northeastern state has produced a number of sportspersons who have contributed significantly to the field of sports in the country.
Interacting with students and faculty members of the university, Dhankhar said the state is the home of polo and it is blessed with medicinal plants.
“Under the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the Northeast, a number of developmental programmes have been introduced under the Act East policy. There has been a phenomenal change in the region with improvement in air, rail and road connectivity,” he said.
On the New Education Policy (NEP), Dhankhar said it is not a political policy but a national policy, under which the education system has been formulated for upskilling youths which will help students fully explore their potential.
“Nation first should be the vision, and our nationalism is beyond compromise,” Dhankar said.
Chief Minister N Biren Singh thanked the Vice President for his visit to the state and said, “Youth of the nation have the power to shape their destiny and future of our society.”
“To strengthen the education system in Manipur, various steps have been taken up by the state government,” he added. (PTI)