Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Dec 14: The Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched a no-holds-barred attack on the Congress saying while the makers of the Constitution understood the importance of unity in diversity and championed it, some people chose not to celebrate it and began sowing seeds of poison instead.
Giving his reply to the debate commemorating 75 years of the adoption of the Constitution, the Prime Minister also spoke about the Emergency and said the period is a taint on the Congress, which will never be washed away. He said 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.
After stating that India’s journey since the adoption of the Constitution has been “extraordinary” and emphasised that the country has deep roots in democracy which have been an inspiration for the world, he recalled the contributions of women and luminaries like BR Ambedkar, Purushottam Das Tandon and Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan in the making of the Constitution and said 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.
Continuing his criticism of the Congress years, Mr Modi said, “During that time, PM Nehru wrote to the CMs. He wrote that if the constitution becomes a hindrance for us, then we should bring change to it. This is what Nehru said!” “We should also note that the country did not sit silently. The President and Speaker warned Mr Nehru and tried to stop him. But Nehru followed his own constitution. Congress got addicted to this habit of tampering with the constitution and they repeated this again and again.”
“In six decades, the constitution was changed 75 times. The seed that was planted by the first PM, was taken care of by another PM — Ms Indira Gandhi. Disregarding the Supreme Court’s decision of 1971, she changed the constitution to clip the wings of our judiciary to give complete power to the Parliament.”
“I remember that Opposition raised protests when I suggested the celebration of November 26 as a recognition of Constitution,” he said adding that it was due to this document that people like him have reached Lok Sabha. “I am not here to personally insult someone, however facts should be placed in front of the nation. Congress’ one family has left no stone unturned in hurting the constitution. Of the 75 years, the family ruled the nation for 55 years.”
“From 1947 to 1952, this country did not have an elected government. There was an interim arrangement in place. In 1951, despite not having an elected government, they changed the constitution. This was an insult to the makers of constitution,” he added.
Referring to emergency, Mr Modi said, “When India was celebrating 25 years of its Constitution, our country’s Constitution was torn apart. Mrs Indira Gandhi did not believe in the Constitution. Even Indira Gandhi’s election was declared null and void. Then she invoked Emergency in rage to save her chair. She misused the Constitution,” he said.
“.. Emergency was imposed, constitutional provisions were suspended. The country was turned into a prison, citizens’ rights were snatched, and press freedom was curtailed. The Congress can’t wipe off this sin. Whenever ‘democracy’ will be discussed in the world, this sin of the Congress will be remembered,” he said.
He said her son Rajiv Gandhi destroyed the Supreme Court victory of Shah Bano for the sake of vote bank. “Instead of helping a woman who was fighting for justice, he supported bad people. Nehru ji started it, Indira ji took it forward, then Rajiv Gandhi also got a taste. The next generation will be the same,” PM Modi said. “Once they tasted blood, they wanted to do it again and again,” PM Modi said, alluding to the Emergency and the Shah Bano case.
“The current generation of the Gandhi family is taking forward the legacy of attacking the Constitution after tasting blood long back,” PM Modi said, drawing loud protest from Opposition MPs in the Lok Sabha. “The Congress did not follow its own constitution, and made Nehru the leader when state units had supported Sardar Patel,” PM Modi said.
The Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had initiated a two-day debate on the Constitution in the Lok Sabha on Friday with a sharp focus on its historical significance and its role in shaping the nation’s governance and global standing. He 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.
The debate also witnessed a fiery speech from Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. In her maiden speech in Lok Sabha, Vadra said the BJP would’ve changed the Constitution had it not been for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. She said the Constitution was a protective shield of justice, unity and freedom of expression and accused the BJP-led Centre of trying to break in the past 10 years. She also spoke about the “growing monopoly” of the Adani Group, atrocities on women, incidents of violence in Sambhal and Manipur and the demand for a nationwide caste census.
“Until 2014, there were crores of people who did not even have a bank account. This was the previous government’s sin. We changed that! We made the correct use of banks in this country,” Mr Modi said while listing the various welfare schemes brought about by his government. “Our mission is uplift the poor,” he said. “The disabled population has also been provided with the correct infrastructure by my government. It was also unfortunate situation that the country did not have a common sign language. We took the initiative to bring this about, and it is now being used.”
He claimed that “Garibi Hatao” was the “biggest jumla” only meant for show. “The constitution is for the people, and therefore the document guides us towards their welfare. The Congress has adopted a favourite word — “jumla. However, the country knows that the biggest jumla was run by one family for many generations. This was the ‘Garibi Hatao’ movement. For the dignity of poor, it was my government that began with the construction of toilets under Swachh Bharat mission,” Mr Modi added.