When President Droupadi Murmu Got A Standing Ovation For Speaking Up For Undertrials

At the Constitution Day valedictory function on November 26 evening, while reading out her prepared English speech, President Droupadi Murmu digressed a bit to speak extempore in Hindi. From her expressions it was evident these words came from her heart. She got a standing ovation which no judge or lawyer got in the two sessions at SC additional building complex auditorium. She spoke about doing something for undertrials in our prisons. What President Murmu said, could best be summed up in these words, “You judges and lawyers are knowledgeable and experienced. You should do something for the people languishing in jail. Neither do most of them know about their fundamental rights, nor their fundamental duties. People who may have just slapped a person during a fight sometimes languish in jail for many years without any legal help. But people who take other’s lives sometimes roam free….people say more jails are to be built as there is overcrowding in jails.. You say we are progressing (“vikas? kaisa vikas”) …then what is the need for more jails? Bringing down crime rate is also part of vikas…it is just my thought…saying this much I am leaving it you…give a thought on what all I said. When I was an MLA, I had the opportunity to visit jails. I wanted to know how the prisoners lived there… especially undertrials. I tried to make changes, but I couldn’t do much”.