Chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday asked graduating law students at the fifth convocation of Dr Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University (RMLNLU) to treat their degrees as a ‘vakalatnama’ for 140 crore Indians and make a case for a ‘Viksit Bharat@2047’, saying those who believe such a transformation is impossible are the real opponents of the vision.
Drawing a parallel with courtroom proceedings, Adityanath said that if a case for a developed India in 2047 were to be filed, the country’s 140 crore citizens would be the petitioners and those with a status quo mindset would be the respondents.
“Who is the respondent in this case? Adityanath asked the graduates to make public trust, protection of rights and access to justice the foundation of their professional lives. “Make AI an assistant, not a charioteer.
Invoking 2014 as a turning point in the country’s reform process, the chief minister said India had moved from being counted among the ‘Fragile Five’ economies to becoming one of the world’s top five economies. He cited the repeal of more than 1,500 obsolete laws, amendments to 183 provisions across 42 laws through the Jan Vishwas Act, and reforms such as the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code and the Goods and Services Tax. Before 2017, he alleged, mafia figures wielded such influence that even convoys of people holding administrative and constitutional positions would stop in front of a mafia figure in Prayagraj.
It is not any specific individual or political party, but rather those people who are ‘yathasthiti vaadi’, people who have already assumed that this transformation is impossible,” he said, asking the graduates to consider how they would present their case before people unwilling to accept arguments or evidence. Recalling the Emergency imposed in 1975, Adityanath said it had shown the country the difference between the “rule of law” and the “ruler of law”. Referring to Uttar Pradesh, he said the state had moved from the “rule of mafia” to the “rule of law” under his government. He said the change had helped transform the state’s image and its economic standing. Every person, including those at the lowest rung of society, should be able to access justice without discrimination, he said, adding that public trust was the greatest asset of the legal system. Your judgment and Dharma should be your charioteer,” he said, adding that while a machine could prepare a draft, a legal professional remained accountable for its consequences.
