President In City, Addresses NALSAR Convocation

President Droupadi Murmu today arrived in Hyderabad for a one-day visit.

She received a grand welcome at the Begumpet airport, with Telangana Governor Jishnu Dev Varma, Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, ministers Ponnam Prabhakar and Seethakka, Chief Secretary Santhi Kumari and GHMC Mayor Gadwala Vijayalakshmi present to greet her.

After her arrival, the President proceeded to attend the 21st convocation of NALSAR University Of Law in Shamirpet.

In her address to the students, President Murmu highlighted the significance of the Constitution, saying, "Our Constitution embodies the ideals of our freedom struggle - justice, liberty, equality and fraternity. The ideal of equality, enshrined in the Preamble and Fundamental Rights, is also reflected in one of the Directive Principles of State Policy concerning justice delivery. This principle ensures equal justice and free legal aid, making the State responsible to ensure that opportunities for securing justice are not denied to any citizen due to economic or other disabilities. Unfortunately, the poor still do not have the same access to justice as the rich. This inequality must change for the better."

She encouraged young legal professionals to be the agents of change in this regard. She reminded the students that as advocates they had a duty to assist the courts in dispensing justice and not just serve their clients' interests, and emphasized that regardless of the roles they chose as legal professionals, they needed to uphold the values of integrity and courage. "Speaking truth to power makes you more powerful," she said.

President Murmu also expressed her admiration for NALSAR's leadership in various areas, particularly its focus on issues such as disability, universal access to justice, prison and juvenile justice, and legal aid. She also commended the university for establishing an Animal Law Centre.

The President urged NALSAR and its alumni to help establish a nationwide network of women advocates and law students, and said that such a network would make concerted efforts to prevent and address atrocities against women.