Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Wednesday expressed his pain over the fact that children are not exposed to the copy of the Constitution that has been signed by members of the Constituent Assembly.

Noting that this original document contains 22 miniature paintings, positioned thoughtfully above each part of the constitution, he said through these miniatures, the founding fathers of the constitution expressed the essence of our 5,000-year old culture.

”But you have not been able to see it because it is not part of the books,” he said while urging the law minister to take initiatives to ensure that the constitution in its authentic form is made available to the country.

Inaugurating ‘Hamara Samvidhan, Hamara Samman’ campaign, commemorating the 75th year of India as a Republic, the vice president described fundamental rights as quintessence to Indian democracy and an inalienable facets of democratic values.

Underlining that one cannot claim to be living in a democracy if one does not enjoy fundamental rights, he highlighted that in this part of the constitution, there is the miniature of Shri Ram, Sita and Laxman returning to Ayodhya.

Describing the consecration ceremony of Ram Lalla in Ayodhya as a historic moment, Dhankhar stated, “After a tryst with destiny and modernity (GST), we had a tryst with divinity on January 22, 2024.” Noting that the passage to construction of Ram Mandir was a very long and painful process, he said still it was achieved in accordance with law and that shows the country believes in rule of law.

Looking back at India’s journey as a Republic, he said over the past 75 years, the Constitution has enabled the country to traverse the difficult terrain and record epochal developments. Describing the declaration of emergency as the darkest and shameful period of the constitutional journey, he underlined that it deprived millions of their fundamental rights by putting them in jail.

Stating that there can be no regret allowed when people fail in their constitutional duties, he underlined that those holding constitutional positions have no alibi and have to vindicate trust imposed in them by the constitution.

Describing fundamental duties as an important part of the constitution, the Vice President made an appeal to everyone to follow fundamental duties noting that it takes no expense & makes us good citizens.