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Constitution debate in Rajya Sabha: The senior BJP leader also brought up “emergency”, triple talaq and Article 370 abrogation and slammed the Congress party
BJP chief JP Nadda addresses Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. (Screengrab/ANI)
Constitution debate in Rajya Sabha: Union Minister JP Nadda, while taking part in the Constitution debate in Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, raked up Jammu and Kashmir. He said the Centre, led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), had ended the one-nation, two-constitutions policy in the union territory.
Addressing the debate during the ongoing winter session of the Parliament, he said, “We ended one nation-two constitutions policy in J&K. The 106 laws passed by Parliament were not applicable there.”
He said Rajeev Gandhi’s 73rd and 74th Amendment acts were also not applicable to J&K.
“The then Home Minister Sardar Patel was given the work of uniting the country and I was very happy that after a long time, I heard the name of Sardar Patel from the Congress side too. After a long time, I heard the Congress people speaking about the great man Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. He united 562 princely states and left Jammu and Kashmir to the then Prime Minister,” the Rajya Sabha MP added.
The BJP national chief said the constitution was framed keeping India’s
culture
in mind. “The constitution bears the imprint of our
culture
, it reflects the marks of Ajanta and Ellora, and it also shows the imprint of the lotus,” he said.
#WATCH | Constitution Debate | In Rajya Sabha, Union Minister JP Nadda says, “The then Home Minister Sardar Patel was given the work of uniting the country and I was very happy that after a long time, I heard the name of Sardar Patel from the Congress side too. After a long time,… pic.twitter.com/vw0cUXx3Dq— ANI (@ANI) December 17, 2024
He said India has had three Prime Ministers/Deputy Prime Minister, who came from West Pakistan, Shri Manmohan Singh Ji, Shri Inder Kumar Gujral Ji, and Shri LK Advani Ji, but no person from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) could contest panchayat elections or become a member of the assembly in Jammu and Kashmir.
“This was due to restrictions and limitations posed by Article 370 of the Constitution,” he explained.
He questioned, “Even then they are demanding to bring it back! I ask why?”
Nadda Invites Congress To Mark 50 Years Of Emergency
The senior politician brought up “emergency” and slammed the Congress party, saying “BJP invites you to mark 50 years of emergency”.
Addressing the grand old party chief Mallikarjun Karjun, he asked, “You gave us the first gift (emergency) within the first 25 years of Independence. Why should we not talk about it?”
‘No Triple Talaq In Islamic Nations’: Nadda
Nadda accused Congress of engaging in appeasement politics since time immemorial and said there’s no triple talaq in Islamic nations like Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Syria.
“But see our secular version that to keep their minority appeasement that continued with triple talaq,” he said.
Constitution Debate
The Parliament witnessed a two-day debate on December 13 and 14 on the Constitution in the Lok Sabha with a focus on its historical significance and role in shaping the nation’s governance and global standing. The debate is being further continued for two days in Rajya Sabha from Tuesday.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who initiated the debate, spoke on politicising the Constitution’s legacy and criticised the Congress party’s efforts to attribute the creation of India’s Constitution solely to a particular political party. Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, in her maiden speech in the Lower House, said that the BJP would have changed the Constitution had it not been for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The highlight of the two-day discussion in the Lower House was Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech. He said the Constitutional amendments brought by his government weren’t done to tighten grip on power, in contrast with the Congress. He said the Nehru-Gandhi family had made a habit of amending the Constitution as it suited their interests, starting with the country’s first PM Jawaharlal Nehru.
PM Modi also outlined 11 resolutions for the country’s future. He said, “After being inspired by the inherent spirit of the Constitution, I want to present 11 resolutions in front of the Parliament for the future of the country”.
