Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankar says access to judiciary being weaponised, calls for putting nation first

Jagdeep Dhankar calls for putting nation first.

Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankar has said that at a time when access to judiciary was being weaponised by vested interests and anti-national forces, the message of nation being first and keeping the interest of the nation over above all should go from Karnataka.

He was inaugurating the three-day ‘Karnataka Vaibhava’ intellectual festival organised by Parivartana, in association with various organisations, at KLE Society’s Rajarajeshwari College in Ranebennur on February 7.

The Vice-President wondered how it was possible to have a debate over nationalism versus regionalism in a country with a rich cultural heritage of 5,000 years. “Indianness is our identity, patriotism is our love and there is nothing more than the nation’s interest. Nationalism is like Ganga comprising of all. Our age-old culture gives us only one message — that it is inclusive of everything. Conserving our rich cultural heritage is our prime duty,” he said.

Beginning his address by quoting lines from the State anthem — Jaya Bharata Jananiya Tanujaathe, jaya he Karnataka mathe, the Vice-President went on to elaborate on the greatness of Karnataka.

“Karnataka is the cradle of civilisation. It is the epicentre of spirituality. It is a thriving epicentre of art, literature and philosophy. And it is testament to India’s cultural, intellectual tapestry,” he said.

The Vice-President said that just a tour of the region ruled by Kadambas, Chalukyas and Vijayanagar kings would remind one of the intellectual brilliance. Recalling contribution of Basavanna, Mr. Dhankar said, “It is the land where Basavanna initiated the vachana movement. Akkamahadevi, Allamaprabhu ignited the spirit of social reform, equality, devotion, and gave a model to the world”.

The Vice-President said that India had taken huge strides in development and was on the way to become the third biggest economy in the next couple of years, and the whole world was astonished over the development of the country with a huge population of 140 crore. “Lot of development in various spheres had happened, and a sea change is being witnessed in Kashmir, which was visited by 2 crore people in 2024. In the last 10 years, a lot of changes had happened, and more transparency and accountability had become a part of the system,” he said.