Those who think freedom of expression is subjected to enforced silence need to revise opinion: V-P Jagdeep Dhankhar

Hon’ble Vice President, Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar attending the 21st Convocation Ceremony of Dibrugarh University in Assam today. @Gulab_kataria @himantabiswa @DibruUniv pic.twitter.com/HmkX02x1Cq

— Vice President of India (@VPIndia) May 3, 2023

He said, “2014 was a watershed moment in Indian political history. After a gap of three decades, when the country saw coalition governance, we had a one party regime…And this verdict of the people, has transformed India into a nation, now watched by the world, respected by the world and one-sixth of humanity’s voice was never so categorical as it is presently. But the development that has taken place in this part is significant, enormous.”

Among the government initiatives he spoke about were the Act East Policy, the MUDRA scheme, AADHAR and transport connectivity in the North East. “I need to question you, when all is going well, why some of us decry our democracy, why some of us inside and outside the country talk of enforced silence, say this country doesn’t have the democratic values? I dare say with confidence and without fear of contradiction that India is the most vibrant and functional democracy on the planet as on date,” he said.

Stating that no country in the world can claim to have a constitutional democratic mechanism for the village, municipalities, states and parliament, he said, “I appeal to the students, intelligentsia and the media that they have to act as ambassadors of this country, they have to believe in our nationalism and run down this narrative, a narrative with no factual basis. We cannot support those who in the country and outside tarnish, taint our growth trajectory and democratic values.”

As Chairman Rajya Sabha, he said that he knows “the freedom of expression available in our country is not subject to any enforced silence”. “Those who think so, need to revise their opinion,” he added. He claimed that these “false narratives” are also emanating from “some universities outside”.

“Some universities in the USA, it is only Indians, and some Indian students who criticise their own country. You will not find another example where a faculty member, student of a country is criticising their own country outside their country. You’ll not find a politician who will trot all around the globe to tarnish our democratic values. And this is not India’s culture,” he said.