Next 75 yrs should strike balance between rights & responsibilities of citizens: Smriti

New Delhi: The next 75 years of independent India need to be equally about the responsibility of citizens towards the community and the nation, and not just about rights, Union Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani said on Sunday.

She was speaking as a guest of honour at the valedictory ceremony of the six-week-long 'Pan India Legal Awareness and Outreach Campaign' by the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA).

The minister said that while the focus since independence was on rights, she was hopeful that the forthcoming years would strike a balance between rights and responsibilities.

Chief Justice of India NV Ramana, judges of the Supreme Court Justice UU Lalit and Justice AM Khanwilkar along with Attorney General KK Venugopal were present at the event.

Irani lauded NALSA for the campaign, which started on October 2 as part of the 75th anniversary celebrations of India's independence, and emphasised that free legal aid in the country is not charity but a right.

The true test of a democracy is ensuring that justice reaches all its children, the Union minister said as she shared her desire for a just future for women and children.

That in the three phases from October 2 to the 14th (of November), 70 crore Indians and their lives could be touched upon, (the campaign) gives a message to our nation that free legal aid 'ehsan nahi adhikar hai' (free legal aid is not charity but a right). For that NALSA and the Hon'ble Chief Justice and judges of the Supreme Court have our gratitude, she said.

Irani noted that the country will celebrate Constitution Day on November 26.

"We must ponder for a while and recognise that these 75 years have been about the exploration of our rights, the next 75 years need to be equally about responsibility towards our communities, towards self and towards our nation.