Text of the Vice-President’s Address during interaction with the Indian Community in the United Kingdom (Excerpts)

Friends, this visit will ever be memorable for me, I will cherish it. I have had a remarkable enlightened interaction with honorable members of Parliament. This is not an occasion for me to make a lengthy speech but I will say one thing- India is proud of its diaspora. They are 24 x 7 ambassadors of Bharat. 1.7 million here and 32 million all over the world. They can be complimented for exemplifying, and that exemplification is conceded by every quarter that they remain fully committed to the Karmabhoomi and also to Janmabhoomi; this wholesome balance they strike with amazing capability.

India at the moment is a democracy that is most functional on all global parameters. If you look at the three wings of the state: the legislature, the executive and the judiciary, you will find that the executive headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has transformed 1/6th of humanity to an unimaginable level.

All societal parameters and elements that go to alleviate the suffering of the people, empowering the common man, are taking place. Infrastructural growth, which could never be dreamt of earlier, is a ground reality. You see it in road, rail, air or technological connectivity. I had indicated to the Honorable Members of Parliament and just to give an illustration, digital payment transactions amounted to 1.5 trillion in 2022 in India. If I take the statistics in relation to the US, UK, France and Germany, taken together- it is four times.

We have 700 million internet users and not just users, they have transformed India’s service delivery system to a level which could never be imagined earlier. A sense of transparency, accountability and delivery system is the new mantra. Look at 110 million farmers getting three times a year an amount so far equivalent to Rs. 2.2 lakh crore directly into their account, without any middlemen. Look at the kind of transformation that has taken place. Power corridors have been sanitized by power brokers and the once-flourishing industry of liaising agents is no longer in existence. All this has been brought about.

There is evolution of an ecosystem that enables every youth to fully unleash his or her energy and potential, and there are no fiscal constraints. If I look at MUDRA loans, look at the amount that has been distributed and each loanee, most of them women, has turned out to be a job creator. Skill development and capacity building is the new norm at every stage.

National Education Policy has evolved after 34 years. I am a product of education. If I had not received a scholarship, I would not have been what I am today. Education is the most effective, potent, transformational mechanism. It is education alone, that takes care of inequities in society, brings about emancipation of the vulnerable and empowerment of youth. That is something which is happening in this country.

Where do you have a judiciary as involved as in India? We have at the moment one of the most enlightened souls as the Chief Justice of India, a man who brings on the table huge experience, commitment, passion, and is enormously talented. Look at the orders- it takes him no time to grant relief to an ordinary man. There shall always be issues in dynamics of governance; there will not be a day henceforth when there will be no issues. But when we examine our judiciary, it is spinally strong. From the apex court, down the line, look around: the reach of the Indian Judiciary for the common man has no parallel. Imagine how outstanding an achievement it is!

Look at our Parliamentarians, those who get elected to the House of People. It is the toughest test. Those who are in the Upper House are very talented. We are proud of our Parliamentarians. In the process if we examine a brief limited area and be judgmental about it, it will not be appropriate. So, I have no difficulty in saying that Indian democracy is functioning at the moment at a level which is unmatched anywhere in the world.

Can you name any other democracy on earth where the Constitution provides constitutional mechanisms at village level, at the municipal level, at the state level, at central level, at cooperative level? In Bharat all this is structured. Our Institutions are spinally independent. Election Commission of India- amazing work they do. Honorable Members of Parliament had made an input that the Election Commission of India can be a guiding factor, a lighthouse for the rest of the world on how to conduct elections fairly, efficiently, in the shortest time.

In India we have an ecosystem now- you may be just anybody but you are accountable to law.  No one is beyond the reach of law. No one can be treated unfairly because we have a robust judicial system. And at the moment, the judicial system is headed by a man who is spinally, morally or propriety-wise well deserving of it.

I would therefore urge you, that it is the right time for us to reflect within and keep the nation always first. We must be proud Indians by birth for collectivity and take pride in our historic accomplishments. Which country on the planet can claim to have tackled COVID pandemic so successfully? Mind you, to every Indian who required vaccination dose it was made available for free, in time, in a calibrated manner and the certification thereof is available on the smartphone. Not even the most developed countries have come to rival it. People are talking about food security- 800 million people in India are getting quality rice, cereals, pulse from April 2020 till date.

Look at the infrastructural growth which is fundamental to the development of any nation. Where we used to take hours by road, we have world class expressways, motorways, airways and of course technological inroads up to the village level. When it comes to Rails, we used to have Rajdhanis and other trains, but now we have Vande Bharat.

When we look at airports, development is no longer arithmetic. Development is geometric and all this is on one account, the rich human resource of Bharat, DNA of its people who take no time in acquiring skills.

Go to any village now in India, you will find technological inroads. They will not go anywhere else to apply for a passport, somebody in the village will do it for them. For a driving license, somebody will do it. For an Aadhar card, somebody will do it. For booking a ticket or making payment for service delivery, whether it is water or electricity, somebody will do it.

There is no person at the moment in India who needs employment and is not getting it. In this flourishing blossoming democracy, where the focal point is empowerment of the ordinary man, there are some discordant voices that get alleviated to a higher level. You must reflect.

I’m not here to make a partisan comment. But all I can say is it has been India’s culture that when we step out of our country’s boundaries, we step out as its ambassadors and the greatest exemplification of it happened during the regime of PV Narasimha Rao, our Prime Minister from 1992 onwards for five years and Dr. Manmohan Singh was his Finance Minister. Leader of the opposition Atal Bihari Vajpayee ji who later became the Prime Minister of the country represented India. That is our culture and that is deeply embedded in our civilizational ethos.

No country in the world can claim to have that kind of civilization history as we have.  Look at our Upanishads, Vedas, enlightened discourse in Bhagavat Gita and look at current Bharat, there is Unity in Diversity.

I have seen it myself in two capacities; one being the governor of West Bengal for three years and now as Vice President of the country.  I would urge everyone of you present here, and it is not a statistical number as I told Hon’ble Members of Parliament-because each of them represented a huge segment and a thought process, and you all also do that. 

I would therefore make an appeal, 32 million Indian diaspora is a formidable demographic component and this demographic component is highly qualified, empowered and vigilant, making the nation proud in every way. It must be reflective on several issues; no one is above criticism, scrutiny and probe. Everyone is subject to these elements, if we have to register progress, but then we can’t be swayed.

The moment of glory for India has come; this moment of glory is being reflected by ground reality.  The world is recognizing it. By all standards, Bharat is the land of opportunities, a favoured destination for investment and among the large economies, even in stressful periods, it is the fastest growing. The reason for this is affirmative governance. A new Mantra was given, “Less government, more governance”.

We are in times in Bharat now where an idea is not parked, there is no parking space for an idea. If the idea is good it has to be executed fast and that execution is taking place with big investment in infrastructure (airports, ports) and village development. Therefore, every one of you has to be 24 x 7, an ambassador of Bharat.

A thought was indicated: do we approve everything? We don’t approve of everything in our family with our progeny and our children, but it has to be collaborative, cooperative and with the mindset so that things look up.

There is no scope for humanity, if it has to develop in a peaceful environment and bring about global order, to be in a state of confrontation. The world is feeling positive about the rise of Bharat at the moment. It will be a positive factor for the stability of the world.

The 75th year of independence of Bharat, “Amrit Kaal” has been fully used, every nook and corner has been sensitized. Heroes and Unsung Heroes of a freedom struggle have been identified and honoured. India has been re-discovered in an authentic manner. Firm foundation has been laid for what India will be in 2047, when the centenary of its independence will be celebrated.

We are the fifth largest economy at the moment. By the turn of the decade, we will be the third. This achievement was beyond our dreams a few years ago. Credit goes to every hard-working Indian, worker, farmer, effective government policies, and honest execution of the policies in a transparent and accountable manner.

Look at the historical perspective. There was a time in the world economy, when India’s share was more than any other country in the world and it lasted for a very long period. Now we are on the way to retrieving it; our development trajectory is geometrical and unstoppable. All the factors will tell you where India is heading.

Let me give you a small illustration, in the space sector, look at ISRO; what giant steps it has taken in the last 12 months. Even the most developed countries in the world have utilized ISRO for putting in orbit for what they thought is essential.

India is now the hub of manufacturing activity for the globe. I would therefore appeal to all of you to contribute in whatever manner you can for the growth of the nation, for the rise in its reputation and to ensure that untenable, ill-premised, unfounded narratives do not take strides in the public domain. No one is against honest assessment or criticism. That will always help us to march ahead and attain our goal. But unfair, malicious, pernicious orchestration is antithetical to good conscience and we must antidote it.

I am extremely delighted to Vikram in particular, for having facilitated this interaction which has turned out to be one-sided but I would grab the opportunity indicated by him and the learned Parliamentarians a while ago that they are thinking of inviting me again.

I am in the habit of accepting invitations. I came to this land for the first time in 1988 when my father was operated on. He had a bypass surgery at Princess Grace Hospital by Dr John Wright. Then I came here in 1989 when I was elected a Member of Parliament as a Federal Minister. Even then I connected with most professionals and Parliamentarians. Now, I see a big change in the mindset in the people of Indian Origin and others. This is not a small achievement and it is not limited to only this country. By default, I led a delegation to the European Parliament. Why by default? As a junior minister I was a deputy leader but the leader was a keen lover of football, so I handled the delegation.

I have always been telling people that fear is the greatest killer. So never have fear as it gives rise to tension and stress. If you have to dream, please don’t harbour it in your heart or mind. Your body is not a parking space for a dream. A dream is required to be executed on the ground. There is no human soul who has made strides in life without falling.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I promise you and I am known to fulfil my promises as this is the habit I picked from the Prime Minister of India, who is known to execute his promises with the fastest of speed. This has been done by providing 170 million free gas connections to needy houses. Millions of houses being made available to the poor, lakhs of jobs being handed out in the public domain and infrastructure is being released in the shortest possible time. So I will keep my promise, but the only thing is someone has to take the initiative so that I can come.

*****