Vice-president Jagdeep Dhankhar on Monday expressed his happiness and said that it was a very auspicious day that the state of Uttarakhand has made the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) a reality.

He was presiding over the inaugural programme for the fifth batch of participants of the Rajya Sabha Internship Programme. He also inaugurated the online portal for the Internship Programme at Vice-President’s Enclave, according to an official release.

Addressing the participants of the programme, Dhankhar said: “Today, a very auspicious sign has occurred. And that auspicious sign is, what the framers of the Constitution had envisioned and directed in the Constitution, specifically in Part 4 – the Directive Principles of State Policy. The framers of the Constitution directed the state to work hard to realize these directive principles. Some of them have been realized, but one realization is Article 44. Article 44 of the Indian Constitution mandates and ordains that the state shall endeavor to secure for the citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India.

“We are all in a joyous mood today. The beginning of the last quarter of the century since the adoption of the Indian Constitution has begun, with Devabhoomi Uttarakhand making the Uniform Civil Code a reality. One state has done it. I congratulate the farsightedness of the government ... .for realizing the vision of the founding fathers of the Constitution by implementing the Uniform Civil Code in their state, and I am sure it will only be a matter of time before the entire country adopts similar legislation.”

Expressing his concern over the opposition to UCC from some quarters, the vice-president stated, “Some people, I would say out of ignorance, are criticizing it. How can we criticize something which is a mandate of the Indian Constitution? Ordainment emanating from our founding fathers? Something that has to bring about gender equality? Why we oppose it? Politics has taken such deep roots in our minds that it has turned into poison. For political gain, people don’t hesitate to forsake nationalism, not even for a moment, without feeling concerned. How can anyone oppose promulgation of Uniform Civil Code! You study it. Study the debates of the Constituent Assembly, study how many times the Supreme Court of the country has so indicated.”

Underlining the security threat posed by illegal migrants, Dhankhar emphasised, “We have to see the challenges. And challenge to the nation is, millions of illegal migrants are living in our land. Millions! Is it not a challenge to our sovereignty? Such kind of people will never be wedded to our nationalism. They use our resources of health, education, and other facilities. They engage in jobs meant for our people. I expect everyone in the government to take a severe look at this. This problem and resolution of it cannot be delayed even by a day? How can a nation suffer illegal migrants in millions? They are threat to our democracy because they are trying to influence our electoral system. They are also threat to our societal harmony, to our nation's security.”

Highlighting the significance of dialogue and deliberation in our civilization, the vice-president stated, “Our culture says that without debate, a solution to a problem cannot be found. I firmly believe that. The world faces problems, some of which are existential in nature, such as climate change or conflicts like the one between Russia and Ukraine, or Israel and Hamas. But at the end of the day, as the prime minister indicated, resolution takes place only through dialogue and diplomacy. Are we performing in this manner at the moment? Have we not yielded the space for debate and dialogue to be overtaken by disruption and disturbance? Have we not yielded the space for consensus-building to be replaced by irretrievable confrontational stances?

“There were many divisive issues, contentious issues, and major disagreements before the Constituent Assembly, but there were never any differences in spirit. The tough terrain was negotiated, the headwind was faced, air pockets were overcome by dialogue, debate, discussion and deliberation. Idea was not to score a point, idea was to arrive at a consensus, a consensual approach because India is a country that is the role model of inclusivity, tolerance, adaptability,” he added.

Speaking on Article 370 he said, “Our Indian constitution owes much to Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, he was chairman of the drafting committee. He had a global perspective and was a visionary, he drafted all the articles of the Constitution except one, Article 370. You have seen Sardar Patel ... he was not associated with integration of Jammu & Kashmir. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar was so nationalist and sovereignty was in his mind. By writing a communication, he declined to draft Article 370. You'll have the occasion to go through that. Had Dr. Ambedkar's will prevailed? We would not have paid a huge price which we have paid.”