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In his over 110-minute speech, the Prime Minister also pointed out that the Congress amended the Constitution 75 times in six decades
Prime Minister Narendra Modi. File pic
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday tore into the Congress and the Nehru-Gandhi family in his reply to the debate commemorating 75 years of the adoption of the Constitution in the Lok Sabha, as he pilloried them for planting “poisonous” seeds in the country’s diversity to accentuate its contradictions and damage its unity.
The Emergency period is a taint on the Congress, which will never be washed away, said the PM. Jawaharlal Nehru amended the Constitution for the first time in 1951, and his daughter Indira Gandhi took this forward with her amendments and the imposition of the Emergency when she was in power, he added.
In his over 110-minute speech, PM Modi also pointed out that the Congress amended the Constitution 75 times in six decades.
‘Tasted blood’
Training guns at the Nehru-Gandhi family, he said they left no stone unturned to strike blows to the Constitution. “This family challenged the Constitution at every level,” he said, adding that he was singling out the family as its members were in power for 55 years.
The family, having “tasted blood”, repeatedly wounded the Constitution, he said, citing several decisions of Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, and Rajiv Gandhi when they held the office of prime minister.
Their next generation is also into the same game, he said in a swipe at the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, and his MP sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
The Prime Minister said leaders like him and many others who came from ordinary families could never have reached where they did but for the strength of the Constitution, as he underlined his long commitment to its values.
PM Modi said India’s journey since the adoption of the Constitution in 1948 has been “extraordinary” and emphasised that the country has deep roots in democracy, which have been an inspiration for the world.
He underscored the contributions of women and luminaries like BR Ambedkar, Purushottam Das Tandon, and Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan in the making of the Constitution. The PM said that several countries took decades to give women their rights, but India’s Constitution gave them the right to vote from the beginning.
“Our Constitution is the foundation of India’s unity…The makers of the foundation, who were from various spheres, knew the importance of unity in India’s diversity. It is with pain that I am saying this… while the makers of the Constitution had unity in their hearts and minds, some people attacked it. India always celebrated unity in diversity, which is essential for the country’s progress, but some people, who grew up in a mindset of slavery, who couldn’t see what’s best for India… kept looking for contradictions in diversity and, instead of celebrating this treasure, tried to sow seeds of poison in the diversity so that India’s unity could be hurt,” he said in Hindi.
‘Started by Nehru, continued by Indira, Rajiv, now…’
Slamming the Nehru-Gandhi family, he said first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru amended the country’s guiding document to curb freedom of expression, and his daughter Indira Gandhi imposed Emergency to defy a Supreme Court judgment that annulled her election as an MP.
She “throttled India’s democracy and mutilated the Constitution” when the 25th year of its adoption was approaching, to save her chair as prime minister, he said, noting that she also effected an amendment to protect the president, vice president and herself from any legal challenge to their position with a retrospective effect.
The country was turned into jail, and the judiciary was throttled, he said. Rajiv Gandhi, who took over as prime minister after his mother’s assassination, also amended the Constitution. This blot on the Congress cannot be washed off, Modi asserted.
Rajiv Gandhi, the PM said, disrespected the Supreme Court and the Constitution by overturning the Shah Bano verdict in which it was held that Muslim women are entitled to maintenance from their husbands after divorce.
“It was started by Nehru, Indira Gandhi took it forward, and so did Rajiv Gandhi. The next generation is doing the same thing… The current generation of the Gandhi family is taking forward the legacy of attacking the Constitution after tasting blood long ago,” he sneered.
Attacking Sonia Gandhi, PM Modi said an unelected person was placed above then PM Manmohan Singh using the National Advisory Council and the next generation, Rahul Gandhi, tore an ordinance passed by Singh’s cabinet in front of the media.
“I am just telling you what happened to the Constitution,” the PM said.
As chief minister of Gujarat, he said, his government celebrated the 60th year of the Constitution’s adoption by placing a copy of the document on an elephant while he walked underneath barefoot in a symbolic gesture to highlight its supremacy.
Reservations and Article 370
While the makers of the Constitution took a considered decision to disallow reservation on the basis of religion and faith in the interest of the country’s unity and integrity, the Congress in its “greed for power” and to “appease its vote bank” pushed for it in violation of the constitutional spirit, he said.
His government, Modi said, repealed Article 370 to unify the country and brought in GST to roll out a “one nation, one tax” regime. He hailed India’s journey since the adoption of the Constitution in 1949 as “extraordinary”, asserting that the country’s ancient democratic roots have long been an inspiration for the world.
Achievements and 11 proposals
Listing the achievements of his government, which is now in its third term, PM Modi said all of its policies are geared towards ensuring that people who are starved of resources and ignored get attention. “Jinhe koi nahin poochta, unhe Modi poojta hai… ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’ is not just a slogan, but an article of faith for us. We will ensure benefits reach everyone,” he asserted.
The Prime Minister also laid down 11 proposals before the House, among which was ensuring that reservation is not snatched away from those who are getting it and making sure that every attempt to provide reservation on the basis of religion is foiled. He also said every region and community should develop together, the country’s politics should be free of nepotism, and every citizen and government should perform their duties.
With agency inputs
