Debate on Constitution: Rajnath Singh Attacks Congress, Priyanka Gandhi Gives Spirited Response

Manas Dasgupta

NEW DELHI, Dec 13: The defence minister and veteran BJP leader Rajnath Singh on Friday hit out at the Congress accusing it of trying to “hijack and appropriate the Indian Constitution” and asserted that constitution was not the “gift of any particular party.”

Initiating the debate in the Lok Sabha on the two-day “Discussion on the Glorious Journey of 75 Years of the Constitution of India,” the defence minister said the contribution of several leaders in the making of the Constitution was deliberately ignored by the Congress which always tried to project that the framers of the constitution all belonged to a particular party.

The Congress leader and newly-elected member Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in her maiden address in the Lok Sabha led the opposition charge against the ruling BJP red-flagging a range of issues beginning with the communal violence in Sambhal last month to underscore the Constitution’s role as a ‘suraksha kavach‘, ‘security blanket’.

The Constitution, she raged quietly, is not the Sangh’s rule book, referring to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the BJP’s ideological mentor. “It seems Prime Minister Narendra Modi hasn’t understood it is ‘Bharat ka Samvidhan‘ not ‘Sangh ka Vidhan‘,” she said.

The Congress MP also slammed the BJP over the use of federal agencies to “censor” rivals – an allegation often levelled by the opposition, particularly before polls, and tossed in the ‘washing machine’ jibe – in a rousing maiden speech after Mr Singh’s opening remarks.

The Lok Sabha began the two-day intense debate to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the adoption of India’s Constitution. The special Constitution debate in the Lok Sabha will culminate with a reply by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday while the Union Home Minister Amit Shah is slated to start the debate in Rajya Sabha on Monday which is scheduled to discuss on the constitution on December 16 and 17. Several top leaders from the BJP-led NDA and Congress-led INDIA bloc will participate in the discussion.

It comes amid the “war of narratives” between the ruling and opposition sides, which has paralysed the normal functioning of the Parliament this winter session, scheduled to conclude on December 20. The BJP and the Congress both issued three-line whips to their MPs on Thursday, asking them to be present in the house on December 13-14 during the scheduled debate on the Constitution in India.

“On many occasions, the Congress has disrespected the Constitution and its spirit. It could not tolerate the independence and autonomy of institutions. It always tried to destroy the basic principles of the Constitution,” Mr Singh initiating the discussion alleged.

“Talk of protection of the Constitution does not seem appropriate coming from it. These days, I see many opposition leaders keep the Constitution in their pockets. Actually, this is what they have learnt from childhood, they have seen their families keep the Constitution in their pockets for generations,” he said.

But the BJP always bows before the Constitution and has never played with the independence and autonomy of institutions, Mr Singh asserted. He pointed out that the Constitution had talked about religious freedom and it had been specified that the State will not have a religion and will be secular. “This was stated by those who were dubbed communal by the people of the Congress,” he said.

Mr Singh said the Constitution was an expression of the general will of the people. “Our Constitution touches upon social, economic, political, cultural life and shows the way for nation building. It is a roadmap to giving India its place in the world stage… It is the outcome of a series of historical events,” he said.

“We must also remember those who were not part of the Constituent Assembly but their ideas are part of it and they played an important role. We must remember Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya, Lala Lajpat Rai, Bhagat Singh, Veer Savarkar and several other such icons whose ideas strengthened the Constitution,” Mr Singh said.

Giving a strong reply to the ruling party on behalf of the combined opposition, Ms Vadra said, “Our Constitution is our lighthouse, our ‘suraksha kavach‘ (armour providing safety) … it keeps citizens safe. But it is sad that in 10 years colleagues from the ruling side (referring to the BJP), who make tall claims, have made attempts to break down this ‘kavach’,” she said in a restrained but fierce speech.

“Had it not been for the Lok Sabha results (in which the Congress-led INDIA bloc contained the BJP to its lowest individual score in the past three elections), the ruling party would have started changing the Constitution. Nevertheless, work to break this ‘kavach‘ has already begun,” Ms Gandhi Vadra warned.

Ms Gandhi Vadra’s attacks included underlining the opposition’s demand for a caste census. “… a caste census is the need of the hour but they trivialise it by discussing things like mangalsutras,” she said referring to the row over Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s comment this year, before the April-May federal election, about the Congress robbing people of their wealth to give to “infiltrators.” “He (the Prime Minister) says the Congress wants to take away your gold.. your mangalsutra. The country has been independent for 70 years… the Congress ruled for 55. Did anyone rob you of your gold or mangalsutra? Indira Gandhi gave her gold… my mother sacrificed her mangalsutra…”

“Today people demand a Caste Census. A colleague from the ruling side (Union Minister Ramdas Athawale, whose Republican Party of India (A) is a BJP ally) also mentioned this. A caste census is essential so we know the condition of everyone and policies can be made accordingly,” she said. “Today people demand a Caste Census to understand the nation’s reality… but the government evades responsibility, often citing events from 1929 or questioning (former Prime Minister Jawaharlal) Nehru’s actions. What is your responsibility?” she asked to rousing cheers from the Congress MPs.

A ruckus broke out in the Lok Sabha after remarks by TMC leader Mahua Moitra on Justice Brijgopal Harkishan Loya, with BJP leaders Nishikant Dubey and Anurag Thakur strongly raising objections. Following which, Speaker Om Birla adjourned the House for 30 minutes. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju later said while the Lok Sabha Speaker will examine the records, Parliamentary action would be taken against Ms Moitra over her remarks on Justice Loya.

When the proceedings resumed after a brief adjournment due to disruptions in the following remarks by Ms Moitra on Justice Loya, the TMC MP Sougata Roy urged treasury benches to use parliamentary rules to counter Mahua Moitra. “Union Minister Kiren Rijiju was openly threatening a woman MP implying that keep your mouth shut otherwise we have power to shut you,” Mr Roy said. The Congress MP K.C. Venugopal demanded an apology from Mr Rijiju for threatening Ms Moitra.

Ms Moitra claimed the BJP failed all three constitutional tests – electoral accountability, institutional accountability by judiciary and watchdogs by media and civil society institutions. “The Public trust in elections must be restored by ECI. We have jokingly started calling the MCC as Modi code of conduct,” she said while accusing Modi government of targetting Muslims. “In 2014, both BJP and Congress were held liable for accepting foreign contributions. In response, this government retrospectively changed the definition of foreign company in the FCRA 2010 act, thus removing the illegality,” said Ms Moitra accusing the BJP of misusing FCRA for campaign financing.

She also raised the statements by ex-CJI DY Chandrachud over invoking Lord Ram before Ayodhya judgement and late justice BL Loya’s death, advising judges to worship Constitution as gods not idols. “I did not think the framers of the Constitution thought judges would rely on private conversations with god rather than constitution while giving judgements,” says Ms Moitra.

Highlighting how CBI, ED were being weaponised to target Opposition, promote crony capitalists and gagging media, she urged these civilian watchdogs to check the government.

CPI(M) Sachinanantham R accused BJP and RSS of attempting to change the Constitution. “Many institutions backed by this government has expressed the wish to change the Constitution. These people want to replace Constitution with Manu Smriti,” he said. Samajwadi Party MP Awadesh Prasad assured that till INDIA MPs were there, Constitution would be protected. “Hundreds of people’s houses and shops were broken in the name of constructing Ram temple,” he said adding how his win in Faizabad highlighted the politics of secularism.

LJP (Ram Vilas) MP Shambhavi Choudhary lamented that Central Hall was kept bereft of Dr BR Ambedkar’s photo by Congress government. “When India is seeing a growth in FDI, Opposition is critiquing the govt. Their SDI is increasing,” says Ms Choudhary. She also accused the Mahagathbandhan of violating Constitutional values in Bihar. She accused previous Congress Prime ministers of being anti-reservation and increasing communal strife.

NCP SP MP Dr Amol Kolhe condemned political sloganeering in Lok Sabha. “We are talking about which businessman had links with which politician and which businessman is funding which party. Instead of this, we should talk about jobs, agrarian crisis,” says Dr Kolhe. He also highlights how critiques were being silenced and judiciary’s time was being wasted in finding what were under mosques and behind temples.

He raised public’s demand for ballot paper voting in Makarwadi, saying, “Is it Constitutional to stop people from exercising their right to vote. Doubts on EVM is being raised by people.” He demanded a choice to allow people to vote via ballot paper or EVMs.