NEW DELHI: Amid growing calls to boycott products from, and travel to, Turkey for allegedly supporting Pakistan against India, Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar, without explicitly naming Turkey, asserted on Saturday that India should not afford to engage with countries that stand against it in times of crisis. He said, “We can no longer afford to travel or import. To empower countries that is inimical to our interests and positioned against us in times of crisis.”
Speaking at the annual convocation of the Jaipuria Institute of Management, the Vice President emphasised the need for ‘economic nationalism’.
“The economy of those countries improved because of our participation. And those countries in times of crisis are positioned against us. And therefore, I firmly believe that we must always keep one thing in mind”, he asserted, adding further that ‘Nation First’ should be the guiding principle and basis of all decisions.
Expressing concern over thegrowing commercialisation of education, he said the country could no longer afford the “commercialisation” and “commodification” of education. “It is undeniable, and a matter of grave concern, that this is present. We must have change of mindsets,” he asserted.
Commending India’s armed forces for their bravery during ‘Operation Sindoor’ against terror outfits based in Pakistan, the VP called it a fitting response to the barbaric Pahalgam attack. “It was a remarkable retaliation, befitting our ethos of peace and tranquility to the barbarity that happened at Pahalgam—the deadliest attack on our civilians since the 2008 Mumbai terror attack”.
He also praised PM Modi’s leadership for delivering the “strongest ever-imagined response” to the perpetrators of terrorism. “The world has now realized and no one is asking for proof now,” he added.
Taking a side swipe at Pakistan, Dhankhar said, “When coffins are taken with armed forces and military power and political power accompanying them, justice is done by Bharat to Sindoor in sublimity”.