Nationalism our religion, says V-P Dhankhar describing Pahalgam attack as challenge

Lucknow, May 1 (IANS) Claiming that the Pahalgam attack poses a challenge to the nation and describing ‘nationalism as our religion’, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Thursday hoped that a suitable response would be chosen by the country ‘unitedly’ under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

He also reiterated his resolve to use strong words if comments are made about constitutional positions, an indirect reference to his criticism of the recent episode of perceived over-reach in which the functioning of the President was sought to be brought under judicial review.

Speaking at a book launch event, Dhankhar said, “Running away from a challenge is a sign of cowardice” and called for the nation to rise as “one person” in the backdrop of the Pahalgam terror attack which left 26 people dead in J&K on April 22.

“It is an occasion for us to take a resolve that national interest is beyond compromise. Nation-first is to be your first principle,” he said, adding that “nationalism is our religion”.

He was speaking at the launch of book ‘Chunautiyan Mujhe Pasand Hai’, written by Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel.

Giving examples of development under PM Modi reflected in increased power connections and toilet facilities in every home, Dhankhar said: “Today the world looks upon India. The Prime Minister accepted the biggest challenges and converted them into opportunities.”

He also cited the wide availability of Internet, tap water supply and improvement in health and education facilities to describe the changed situation under the PM Modi’s government. “This is the reason why PM Modi changed ‘Rajpath’ name to ‘Kartavyapath’,” he said.

“Challenges will continue to confront us with the most serious one being which comes from one's own people. Such baseless challenges have no link to national development and are linked to the ‘Raj days’,” he said.

Calling himself a victim of the challenge linked to the Colonial era mentality, he said, “Our strength lies in our civilisational depth. Veda, Gita, Ramayana and Mahabharata are our guides in case of any challenge,” he said.

He said not addressing challenges is not a solution and the path of duty is uncompromisable.

In a veiled reference to the perceived judicial overreach due to a Supreme Court decision which put a time limit for the President to decide on granting assent to bills, he expressed deep concern over comments made about constitutional positions.

In a subtle reference to the disqualification of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s election by the Allahabad High Court around 60 years ago which pitted the legislature against the judiciary, Dhankhar said, “It is our bounded duty to ensure our constitutional institutions are respected. And the respect arises when institutions confine to their own area, when institutions respect one another.”

“In our Constitution, two positions are considered supreme — one is the President of India, and the other is the Governor. And Chief Minister, they are supreme because the oath you have taken, the oath I have taken, the oath that MPs, ministers, legislators, or any judge has taken — that oath is: I will uphold the Constitution,” he said.

“But Droupadi Murmu ji's (President) and Anandiben Patel ji's (Governor) oath is different from this. Their oath is: 'I will protect, preserve, and defend the Constitution.' And the second oath is: 'I will serve the people' — for the President, it's the people of India, and for the Governor, it's the people of the respective state. If comments are made on such dignified and constitutional positions, then according to me, it is a matter that deserves serious reflection," he said, underlining the supremacy of the President in the Constitutional scheme of things.

“Our Constitution does not envisage confrontation among institutions. The Constitution wants coordination, collaboration, discussion, deliberation, dialogue and debate,” he said ,

Calling Uttar Pradesh as “Uttam (best) Pradesh”, he said the state has made unparalleled development under Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and introduced the first waterway and the country’s first rapid rail transport system.

“India is bubbling with hope and possibilities. The rise of Bharat is phenomenal. Such situations will throw up challenges and we cannot turn away from addressing them,” he said, referring to challenges ahead.

He said there is a section of people who believe that public memory is short.

"They think that people will forget about a matter with passage to time. But such a thing does not happen,” he said, calling Emergency as the darkest period of democratic history when lakhs of people were put behind bars.

“Access to judiciary was negated, fundamental rights were ignored. We haven’t forgotten that. And the recent episode, I believe that we must believe that every person is innocent which has a premium value in democracy. However, any crime that impacts the psyche of the masses cannot be pushed under the carpet,” he said in a subtle reference to the ‘cash at judge’s home’ episode involving a Delhi High Court judge.

--IANS

rch/pgh