Good afternoon!
I must express a deep sense of gratitude to Shri Harivansh ji, Deputy Chairman, Rajya Sabha. You all had the benefit of hearing him today. Your internship program has been created after a very thoughtful process. There has been involvement at my level, Harivanshji's level, Secretary General’s level and other senior officials. This is the third edition and the underlying purpose is not to educate you because each of you have the capacity and potential to help yourself. Idea is just to initiate you, idea is to ignite that particular flame that connects you with Indian Parliament, in turn with Indian nationalism, in turn with the nation. Therefore from here you will be soldiers, warriors to propagate a theme that we should always keep the nation first. We will keep our nation above self interest, above partisan interest. We therefore have to understand what is meant by Nation and Constitution.
I am pained and disturbed that some people in positions have just no idea of Bharat. They have no idea of our Constitution, they have no idea of our national interest. I am sure your heart must be bleeding from what you see. If we are true Bhartiya, if we believe in our nation, we will never side with the enemies of the nation. We will all stand spinally for the nation.
Imagine, in getting this freedom, ultimate sacrifice has been given by how many in protecting this freedom, in protecting this nation. My brothers and sisters, now they are also involved in combat positions. Mothers have lost their sons, wives have lost their husbands. We can't ridicule nationalism. Every Indian outside the country has to be an ambassador of this nation. How painful. One who holds a constitutional position is doing just the reverse of it.
Nothing can be more condemnable, despicable and intolerable that you become part of enemies of the nation. They do not understand the value of freedom.
They do not understand that this country has civilizational depth of 5000 years. Let me invite your attention first to our Constitution. Some people are so ignorant that they just take the Constitution for granted, the Constitution that is sacred. It was structured over 3 years of painstaking work by the founding fathers of the Constitution, the members of the constituent assembly over 18 sessions without disruption, without disturbance, without sloganeering, without any posters being raised.
It worked through the mechanism of debate, dialogue, discussion and deliberation. Challenges, boys and girls, before them were Himalayan, insurmountable. The issues were divisive, there could not be easy consensus. They worked for it, they worked for us. Some people want to divide our nation. Ignorance in extremity!
Let me tell you about the preamble of the Indian Constitution. We the people of India are fountain heads of it. We are the source of it. We give to ourselves this Constitution. For Justice, liberty, equality and fraternity. Just imagine, someone wants to tear fraternity to pieces outside this country imagining a factual situation which is non-existent.
I beseech all of you to go through that period when a leader of the opposition, who became Prime Minister thereafter, Shri Atal Bihari Bihari Vajpayee. He went to represent the nation and Narasimha Rao ji was the Prime Minister. Not a single thought must have come to the mind of the Prime Minister that the leader of the opposition will play politics.
No. Every drop of our blood is committed to our nation. And they want to suck blood out of us.
They want to paint a particular image about India. You are stakeholders in democracy. You are the most vital stakeholders.
I have seen India closely, the government closely when I was elected to Parliament in 1989. I was a worried Member of Parliament. Why? Because our gold had to be sent in physical form to Switzerland to be placed in two banks.
Our foreign exchange was around 1 billion US dollars. Now it is 680 billion US dollars.
I went to Jammu and Kashmir, Srinagar in particular as the Minister. Deathly silence. Couldn't see more than a dozen people on the road. Now 2 crore tourists visit every year.
Then, the size of our economy was smaller than the cities of London and Paris. Now you know where we are.
I don't want to put out statistics. देश के साथ इस प्रकार का व्यवहार हमारी अस्मिता को चुनौती हमारे अस्तित्व पर कोठाराघाट, हमारी नीव के अंदर दीमक का काम करना, विदेशी भूमि पर जाकर देश के दुश्मनों के साथ बैठना, एक नॉरेटिव शुरू करना !
These divisive forces have exposed themselves. I don't want you to observe in silence. I don't want to give you any thought. I don't want to give you any direction. I want you to take your own direction. I want you to believe in yourself, your convictions. And then make it known.
Over these four weeks you have had the occasion to see certain things. And by virtue of that, your learning will continue day by day. As the Secretary General said, you will be connected with all the other persons who have benefited out of this programme.
You will share your ideas. Wherever you go in life, you will have ample opportunity to help yourself, to help the society, to help your friends, but most importantly, first and foremost, you have to keep national interest uppermost.
There can be no degrees of telling the truth. Either you tell the truth or you don't. There can be no degrees of commitment to the nation. It has to be 100%.
Some people have no idea what our Constitution says. Reservation is embedded in our Constitution. It is there by way of affirmative action. It is a vibrant facet of our Constitution. Some people go out and make light of it.
How can anyone in sanity, in senses, make a claim that a particular religious person cannot go to his/her place of worship in his/her own dress. I have no words to condemn it. We must be extremely careful.
This is awful impropriety and extremity. Boys and girls, our cultural values are indestructible. But some people don't understand. They do not understand that for this nation, when Lal Bahadur Shastri gave a call, सप्ताह में एक दिन शाम को भोजन नहीं करेंगे, पूरे देश ने नहीं किया I यह वह देश है जब भारत के प्रधानमंत्री ने कोविद की लड़ाई के अंदर कहा जनता का कर्फ्यू, तब लोगों ने मजाक उड़ाने की कोशिश की I
But India stood its ground before the entire world. India fought COVID while helping hundreds of other countries. They don't understand. Their approach is that they are blinded by partisan approach. They look at nothing but self-interest.
They are on quicksand. They have feet of clay. If you can't believe in your nation, you are a coward.
I am using these moderate words because I hold a Constitutional position. But I cannot find an escape route.
When I interacted with each of you, I could see brilliance. I was concerned, where would you find a place in life? But I was assured, given your talent, given your potential exposure, you will make a good mark wherever you go. I strongly advocate to all of you. The basket of opportunities is increasing. You only have to look that way. Get out of these silos of recruitment for the government jobs. I am sure you must have got a feel here.
Absurdly, abnormal, demeanour, and deliberately hurtful of national sentiments. I appeal to the media, they must take note of national sentiment. I have no doubt, no Indian would ever approve sacrilege of our values.
No Indian will ever approve that we compromise our nationalism to get in touch with our enemies. I was appalled at one point of time, I said in the beginning, when I interacted with you. Something happens in neighbouring states, and they say this can happen in India. They are working in overdrive to see this nation suffer divisiveness. They want to create challenges where there is none.
Which country in the world is having this kind of economic upsurge? An address by the foreign minister must have been circulated to you. Go through it. The external affairs minister has pointedly indicated where we are.
I don't want to take you through the developments India has attained. But one thing is for sure, we are living in times of hope and possibility. We are living in times of equality. We are living in times of justice. And there is someone, trying to make the reverse of it as truth.
These loose cannons, these loose cannons powered by enemies of India, these loose cannons fuelled in every sense of the term by interests that want to create unrest in the country, bring about divisiveness, they have to be neutralised by young minds and by all citizens working in togetherness.
There is a limit to patience. बर्दाश्त की कोई हद होती है। पर वह बर्दाश्त जवाब दे देती है जब देश का नुकसान करने की गिरावट की कोई हद नहीं होती। आए दिन एक ही बात धरती पर आज के दिन अगर कोई स्वर्ग है तो वह भारत है। दुनिया की संस्थाएं कह रही है इंटरनेशनल मोनेटरी फंड कह रहा है की डिजिटल रिवोल्यूशन में इंडिया एक मॉडल कंट्री है। वर्ल्ड बैंक कह रहा है कि यह एक ऐसा देश है जहां इन्वेस्टमेंट और अपॉर्चुनिटी का फेवरेट डेस्टिनेशन है।
अर्थ शास्त्री बताते हैं कि हमारी ग्रोथ रेट क्या है, ऐसी स्थिति में कोई अपना और संविधान की शपथ लेने वाला ऐसा कृत्य करें। आपको मैं बताना चाहता हूं उदयपुर में प्रताप गौरव जाइए और वहां देखिए आप की जब किसी ने ऐसा कृत्य किया तो उसकी मां ने क्या किया। मैं ज्यादा नहीं कहना चाहता भारत मां को बचाने के लिए उस मां ने अपने बेटे का सर कलम कर दिया। आप सब बुद्धिमान है। आप सब समझते हैं, आप जानते हैं मैं कोई ऐसी बात नहीं कर रहा जो हकीकत से आप वाकिफ नहीं है। पर हमारे कान सुनते रहेंगे और जुबां चुप रहेगी हमारा व्यवहार चुप रहेगी।
Silence on these critical occasions is culpable. हम उस दुष्कर्म में भागीदारी दे रहे हैं, चुप रहकर। Each one of you must speak out. हम किसी भी तरीके से राष्ट्रवाद के प्रति समर्पण को कम नहीं होने देंगे। हमारा संकल्प है कि राष्ट्रवाद सर्वोपरि है, परिवार से ऊपर है, खुद से भी ऊपर है, राजनीति से भी ऊपर है।
मेरा कोई सरोकार नहीं है कि राजनीतिक दल कैसे राजनीति करें। करें, कानून के दायरे में, संविधान के दायरे में करें। सरकार की आलोचना करें, पर देस के ऊपर, देश की अस्मिता के ऊपर और वह भी पराकाष्ठा की दुश्मनों के साथ मिलकर यह एक घटना नहीं है यह लगातार घटना है।
आप अंदाजा लगाएंगे कि इसके अलावा कोई एजेंडा नहीं है। हर विदेश यात्रा का एक तात्पर्य हो जाता है कि किस तरीके से भारत को बदनाम किया जाए, भारत की छवि को धूमिल किया जाए।
They engage in the most atrocious act of tarnishing and demeaning our sacred institutions. ना धर्म का ज्ञान है, ना संस्कृति का ज्ञान है, ना संविधान का ज्ञान है, और ना उन लोगों का अंदाजा है, उन माता बहनों का, जिन्होंने अपने लाडले खोए हैं, भूतकाल में खोए है , और आज भी हम सांस ले रहे हैं, क्योंकि वह हमारे पहरी हैं।
Boys and girls, I want you to have no fear. I don't want you to have fear of failure. No. You must fully exploit your potential. You must exploit your talent. You must contribute to the nation, to your family, your friends, and everyone. Have it from me—there are opportunities.
जो कार्यक्रम यहां हो रहा है, निर्मला सीतारमण जी ने जो बजट दिया है, और उसमें जो इंटर्न्स की बात की गई है, लोग समझते नहीं हैं और कहते हैं, "इतना कैसे होगा?" 140 करोड़ के देश में शौचालय कैसे हुआ? 140 करोड़ के देश में मोबाइल कैसे आगे बढ़ा? 140 करोड़ के देश में डिजिटाइजेशन कैसे हुआ? 140 करोड़ के देश में डायरेक्ट ट्रांसफर कैसे हुए? 140 करोड़ के देश में 4 करोड़ अफोर्डिंग हाउस कैसे बन गए? 3 करोड़ आगे बनेंगे|
I am not for the government or anyone else. I am for ground reality. यह हो रहा है। यह कौन कर रहे हैं? यह आप लोग मिलकर कर रहे हैं। मैं यहां पर पहुंचा हूं, कोई privilege pedigree लेकर नहीं। गांव के स्कूल में पढ़ा था, लाइट नहीं थी, शौचालय नहीं था, सड़क नहीं थी। गांव में प्राइमरी स्कूल थी। स्कॉलरशिप मिल गई तो एक मौका मिल गया। आज के दिन कोई कमी नहीं है। हमारी राष्ट्रीय शिक्षा नीति जबरदस्त बदलाव का केंद्र बनी है। मेरा आपसे यह कहना है कि जिस यात्रा में हम चल रहे हैं, जो मैराथन मार्च है, जो विकसित भारत की मैराथन मार्च है, जो 2047 तक विकसित भारत का लक्ष्य रखा है। उस महान यात्रा में कोई आज टायर को पंचर करना चाहता है। सड़क खोद रहा है कि यात्रा आगे न निकल जाए और हम आंख बंद कर लें? नहीं!
We all have to contribute to the success of this marathon march. यह जो महान यज्ञ देश में हो रहा है, इसमें हर किसी को आहुति देनी है, ताकि 2047 में भारत विकसित भारत बने। मैं आपको डॉक्टर अंबेडकर के आखिरी भाषण की ओर याद दिलाकर मेरी वाणी को विराम दूंगा। डॉक्टर अंबेडकर ने संविधान के लिए बड़ा प्रयास किया। उनके उन शब्दों को आप देखिए, कितने सार्थक साबित हुए हैं:
November 25, 1949, The last sitting of the Constituent Assembly. Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, chairman of the drafting committee, rightly known as the father of the Indian Constitution, said,
“What perturbs me greatly is the fact that not only India has once before lost her independence, but she lost it by the infidelity and treachery of some of her own people.”
हमने एक बार आजादी खोई थी, क्योकि कुछ लोग थे—infidelity और treachery।
Will history repeat itself? I will pause. लगा हुआ है वही treachery, वही infidelity, वही भारतीय अस्मिता पर प्रहार।
Further, he said, “It is this thought which fills me with anxiety. This anxiety is deepened by the realization of facts that in addition to our old enemies in the form of caste and creeds, we are going to have many political parties with diverse and opposing political creeds.”
Dr. B. R. Ambedkar raised a question at that time: “Will Indians place the country above their creed or will they place the creed above the country?”
जो उन्होंने सोचा नहीं था, शंका व्यक्त की थी, कोई लगा हुआ है इसे हकीकत में बदलने के लिए। How can we place anything above the country? उन्होंने जवाब दिया: “I do not know.” He is not alive to see it.
But this much is certain. He said, “If the parties place creed above country, our independence will be put in jeopardy a second time and probably be lost forever. This eventuality we must all resolutely guard against. We must be determined to defend our independence with the last drop of our blood.”
I will appeal to you: Be in contact. The platform of the Secretary General is a platform not for pleasantries. That you can do otherwise. It is for sharing knowledge, sharing experiences that take our nation forward. Look all over the globe—Europe, the UK, the USA—and look at our country.
यहां के अमन-चैन को खत्म करने के लिए अपने में से कोई एक विदेशी भूमि पर जाकर संविधान की शपथ लेने के बाद, एक संवैधानिक पद पर रहते हुए इस प्रकार का कृत्य करे, यह अकल्पनीय है, दिल दहलाने वाला है, और सोने वाला है। यह कृत्य आपके भविष्य के साथ खिलवाड़ है। ऐसा हम नहीं होने देंगे। यह हमारा संकल्प है।
I wish you the very best in your life. Never lose hope, never lose courage, always believe in yourself. Don’t allow an idea to be parked in your mind—experiment with that idea, and I have no doubt each of you will contribute massively to national growth.
Thank you so much.
