Vice President of India Jagdeep Dhankhar has come down heavily on people, who came out on streets after they were summoned by national agencies for questioning.
Delivering the convocation address of the University of Jammu on Friday, Dhankhar, without taking any names, said that some people in this country thought that they were above the law. He wondered as to how somebody could take to the streets after being summoned by an agency and said this should not have happened in the face of a robust judiciary in the country.
Asserting that nobody was above the law, the Vice President said that such people, who were stakeholders in corruption, were getting all their resources together to find an escape route, however, all escape routes were plugged and the country was following a zero-tolerance policy on corruption.
He further said that every citizen of the country was accountable to law now.
The Vice President said that a small category of people in the country were trying to tarnish, dent and decry the institutions of the country.
He said some people were talking about food security, ignoring the fact that this country has been feeding 800 million people. No one should be allowed to tinker the upward growth of the country, added the Vice-President.
Dhankhar alleged that false narratives were being orchestrated by these forces, which could be harmful to the country. He said people were not taking these threats seriously thinking that the numbers were small.
He said if a silent majority decided to remain silent any further, then they may be silenced forever. The Vice-President appealed to the public to use their mind and act accordingly.
Remembering renowned politician and academician Dr. Syama Prasad Mukherjee, Dhankhar said the slogan given by Dr. Mukherjee came true with the abrogation of Articles 35A and 370.
He said personally for 20 years, he had been advocating for this. Calling it an aberration, Dhankhar said Articles 35A and 370 were put as a temporary measure, which lasted for 20 years and he was happy that it was no longer there.
The Vice President said the development which Jammu and Kashmir has seen after the abrogation of Articles 35A and 370 was a testimony to the vision and foresight of Dr Syama Prasad Mukherjee
The integration of the region with the national mainstream has paved the way for more investments and development. All national institutes were in Jammu and Kashmir now and in some time, even AIIMS would be fully functional, he added.
He pointed out that Father of the Indian Constitution, Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar drafted all the articles but declined to draft Article 370. He wanted the Central laws to apply here, noted the Vice-President, stating that the connectivity by air and road to Jammu and Kashmir has improved after the abrogation of Article 370.