Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Tuesday said Operation Sindoor has changed the mindset of people of India massively with regard to national security, national economy and national welfare.

Operation Sindoor was launched in response to the brutal killing of 26 people by terrorists in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, on April 22. The armed forces launched it to neutralise the perpetrators. Strikes were carried out on terrorist camps located in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK).

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Speaking at the inaugural session of Rajya Sabha Internship Programme-phase 7 at the Vice-President’s Enclave, Dhankhar underscored, “The recent episode, Operation Sindoor, has changed our mindset massively. We are now nationalistic as never before. And this is reflected in participation of all political landscape in delegations that have gone abroad to project our message of peace and our complete intolerance to terrorism.”

“And therefore, having seen recent events, well, we have no choice. We have no other option but to remain united and grow stronger……Like institutions, even political tribes have a moral duty to the national cause, because ultimately all Institutions, the Legislature, the Judiciary, the Executive, the focal point is national growth, national welfare, public welfare, to generate transparency, accountability, honesty,” he said.

“For national security, we need indigenous strength. War is best avoided from a position of strength. Peace is secured when you are ever ready for war … .strength comes apart from technological prowess, conventional arms strength, from people also,” Dhankhar said.

The Vice-President said on issues of national security, economic progress, all factions need to put national interest over partisan priorities.

“I will appeal to everyone in the political spectrum to seriously reflect, come to a conclusion that on issues of national security, on issues of growth, on issues of our internal security, there must be consensus. Sometimes politics get too hot for nationalism and security, something we need to overcome,” Dhankhar said.

Emphasising that Parliament is the ultimate authority to make laws, Dhnakhar said, “Indian parliament is much beyond a legislative body. It is a reflection presently of 1.4 billion people’s will. It is the only legitimised constitutional platform that authentically reflects the will of the people, and therefore, Parliament has primacy.”

He said Parliament has primacy not in everything because there are areas where executive has primacy, how to govern.

“Judiciary has primacy, how to deal with the justice system but parliament has primacy on two counts- it is the ultimate authority to make law. Secondly, it holds the executive accountable. Because governance is defined by some fundamentals and one fundamental is transparency. Second is accountability, and in modern times, we have added a third facet to it. Optimal performance by institutions to gallop our progress trajectory……Parliament is a place, ultimate place, for debate, dialogue, discussion, and discourse,” Dhankhar said.