Pained by attempts to 'demean' constitutional institutions, says V-P Dhankhar

NEW DELHI: Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Tuesday said he is pained by attempts to "demean" constitutional institutions and added people doing so should heed BR Ambedkar, the architect of the Constitution. Speaking at the convocation of Maharshi Dayanand University in Haryana's Rohtak, he added that the corridors of power which were "infested" with brokers 10 or 15 years back have now been "sanitised". Asking the students to take inspiration from Ambedkar's life, Dhankhar noted, "This is very important because we find, some of us, a very small number, who are not subscribing to this." "It pains our heart.

How can anyone believing in Bharatiyata, a citizen of Bharat, demean and decry our nation, tarnish our progress, dent our constitutional institutions by going all round the country or outside?" he said. The lesson for them is to heed Ambedkar, Dhankhar said and added, "I quote, 'You should be Indians first and Indians last and nothing else but Indians'." Speaking on graft, Dhankhar said, "Governance corridors, I remember a decade or 15 years back, were infested with power brokers ... nothing could be transacted without corruption." The scenario now is that these corridors have been sanitised of the power brokers, he added.

Now, the inalienable facets of governance are honesty, accountability, transparency and integrity, he said and called these "non-negotiable elements". Tracing the shift from an era plagued by corrupt brokers, the vice president emphasised that an ecosystem has been established where power corridors are free from corruption and intermediaries. He said, "India is on the rise as never before and this journey, the progress journey, I can assure you, is unstoppable." He also asked the graduates to take advantage of the thriving and blossoming affirmative environment.

"Look at the thriving and blossoming affirmative environment around you. Look around, look at even the events of the last few months and you will know where our Bharat is in the comity of nations." "This enabling governance awaits you … mark my words, go back a decade or 15 years back, and look at what the situation is now. Now the situation is that honesty, accountability, transparency and integrity are non-negotiable elements.

These are inalienable facets of governance and this is a new norm," he said. Pointing to uniform respect for law and its enforcement as "another equalising hallmark of this ecosystem", Dhankhar said, "Now, no one is above the law." He claimed those who thought law could not reach them "are stunned". "They are within the reach of law. High and mighty, all are accountable to the law and that is the democratic essence. The law is supreme and everyone has to yield to it," Dhankhar said. "Another significant facet of governance that has emerged recently is zero accommodation for corruption.

Equality and accountability before the law is now a ground reality. We don't have to canvas for it, people know about it," he said. Dhankhar, who is also chairman of the Rajya Sabha, asked the students to unshackle their minds and not fear failure. "Affirmative policies and governance have already provided you with a conducive platform where you can unleash your talent, realise aspirations and contribute to India's historic march (to) becoming a developed nation by 2047," he said. "You are the torchbearers who will lead us to our future that is defined by innovation and enterprise. You are vanguards of a resurgent Bharat," the vice president told the students.

He said the achievements of young minds who graduated from universities in the country have been nothing short of extraordinary and "they have contributed to the growth trajectory of Bharat". "They have brought Bharat to being the fifth largest economy in the world. They have created an ecosystem and an economy that will be the third largest world economy by 2030," he said and added, "Bharat, at 2047, will be a developed nation". Dhankhar also said this is an era where the "impact and influence of Bharat is felt across borders". "To be an Indian outside India is a matter of pride for us because others give us now a very positive look," he added.

He pointed out that the world is confronting disruptive technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, the Internet of Things and machine learning and said the government has allocated Rs 6,000 crore for quantum computing and Rs 9,000 crore for the Green Hydrogen Mission. Due to this investment, "by 2030, there will be Rs 8 lakh crore investment and nearly six lakh jobs would be created", he said.

Haryana Governor Bandaru Dattatreya, Supreme Court Judge Justice Surya Kant, Haryana Minister Mool Chand Sharma and Maharshi Dayanand University Vice-Chancellor Prof Rajbir Singh were present on the occasion.