NEW DELHI: Claiming that the controversial Uniform Civil Code (UCC) would bind the country together, Vice-President (VP) Jagdeep Dhankhar today said any further delay in implementing the UCC would be “corrosive to their values”.
Vice-President Dhankhar was speaking at the 25th convocation of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Guwahati, when he invited the attention of the new graduates to the topic of the UCC.
Reminding the states about their role in implementing the UCC, Dhankhar stated: “Our Constitution was given to us by very wise and sagacious people. Dr BR Ambedkar was the Chairman of the Drafting Committee of the Constitution, and it was they who 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 the governance of the country. It is the duty of the state to apply these principles in making laws.”
The VP said he was somewhat stunned by the reaction of people when a thought was afloat that something should be done about Article 44: ‘The state shall endeavour to secure for citizens a Uniform Civil Code throughout the territory of India’. He was sure that the situation had come, and any further delay in implementation of the Uniform Civil Code would be corrosive of their values, he added.
He claimed that the UCC would bind Bharat, its nationalism more effectively, and that was the thought process of the founding fathers of the Constitution. The VP hit out at what he termed “anti-Bharat” narratives and warned against the foreign actors, who were affecting India’s reputation. Dhankhar said there was a zero-tolerance approach to corruption now and asked the young graduates not to remain silent on the matter.