Staff correspondent, TwoCircles.net
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched a scathing attack on the Congress party during a debate on the Constitution in the Lok Sabha (Lower House of Parliament).
Modi discussed a range of issues, from Article 370 to the Uniform Civil Code. Without naming anyone specifically, he targeted the Gandhi family, “A family from the Congress party has left no stone unturned in harming the Constitution,” he said.
Earlier, Congress leader and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, in his speech, referred to a piece written by Vinayak Damodar Savarkar and criticised the Modi government. He also raised issues regarding caste-based census and the expansion of reservations.
Following Rahul Gandhi’s address, BJP leaders responded sharply. Parliamentary Affairs Minister and BJP leader Kiren Rijiju called Gandhi’s statements on Savarkar incorrect and shared a document on social media. BJP MP Jagdambika Pal, who is also deputy speaker, reminded that Gandhi had torn up a bill (Land Acquisition Bill of the Manmohan Singh government) passed by his own government in Parliament, implying that it was at that moment that he had disrespected the Constitution.
The debate on the Constitution marked the 75th anniversary of its adoption, with discussions taking place on both Friday and Saturday. On Friday, Priyanka Gandhi, Congress MP from Wayanad, also raised concerns about the government during the debate.
PM Modi’s Address
The prime minister addressed several issues, targeting the Congress while also listing his government’s achievements, including the abrogation of Article 370.
While Modi did not name the Gandhi family, he pointed out that one particular family within Congress had posed challenges to the country at every level. “In the last 75 years, a single family ruled for 55 years. It is only right that people have the right to know what happened in those years,” he remarked.
He highlighted that from 1947 to 1952, there was no elected government in the country and that the Constitution had been changed even before elections were held. “In 1951, when there was no elected government, they altered the Constitution, attacking freedom of expression. This was an insult to the framers of the Constitution,” he added.
Modi also criticised former Prime Ministers Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi for making multiple amendments to the Constitution over the years. He said, “In nearly six decades, the Constitution was changed 75 times. The seeds sown by our first prime minister were nurtured by another prime minister.”
Attacks on Indira, Rajiv Gandhi
Modi also took aim at Indira and Rajiv Gandhi, saying, “Indira Gandhi’s election was declared invalid by the court because of malpractices. To save her seat, she imposed the Emergency. In 1975, she passed the 39th Amendment, which barred any legal challenge to the election of the president, the vice president, the prime minister and the Lok Sabha speaker.”
He recalled the Shah Bano case, where the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi overruled the Supreme Court’s judgment on behalf of the Muslim community. “Instead of siding with a woman seeking justice, Rajiv Gandhi supported extremists and overturned the Supreme Court’s verdict by passing a law in Parliament.”
Uniform Civil Code
Prime Minister Modi reaffirmed his government’s intention to introduce a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in India. “The UCC was discussed in the Constituent Assembly. After debate, it was decided that any government that comes to power will decide on its implementation,” he said.
He quoted K.M. Munshi, a prominent member of the Constituent Assembly, who said that bringing a UCC was essential for national unity and integrity. “The Supreme Court has also stated several times that a Uniform Civil Code should be implemented as soon as possible. Keeping in mind the sentiments of the Constitution’s framers, we are working tirelessly towards it,” Modi added.
Rahul Gandhi on Savarkar
In his speech, Rahul Gandhi invoked Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, quoting his views on the Constitution. Gandhi said, “Savarkar wrote that the worst thing about India’s Constitution is that it is not truly Indian. According to him, the Manu smriti, not the Constitution, should guide our nation.”
Gandhi clarified that these were Savarkar’s words, and asked, “I want to ask the ruling party, do you support Savarkar’s views? Because when you speak in favour of the Constitution in Parliament, you are mocking and dishonouring Savarkar.”
Rahul on Other Issues
In his address, Gandhi also spoke on various other issues, including the Agniveer scheme, paper leaks, farmers’ protests and Uttar Pradesh. “You praise leaders like Mahatma Gandhi and Periyar, but in reality, you want to run India the same way it was run in the past,” he said.
He drew an analogy with the Mahabharata’s character Eklavya. “Like Eklavya, India’s youth prepares for exams every day. But with the Agniveer scheme, you cut their fingers. When paper leaks happen, you cut their thumbs,” he said.
He also criticised the government’s handling of the farmers’ protests at the borders of Delhi. “You used tear gas on farmers demanding MSP, while you benefit corporates like Adani and Ambani.”
He also raised concerns about the Hathras gang-rape case, stating that the culprits were free while the victim’s family had been silenced. “The family couldn’t even perform their daughter’s last rites. The UP government lied about this,” he claimed.
BJP’s Counterattack
Following Rahul Gandhi’s speech, BJP leaders fired back. BJP MP Jagdambika Pal reminded that Gandhi had once torn up a bill passed by his own government, thereby disrespecting the Constitution.
Anurag Thakur, the saffron party MP from Himachal, mocked the Opposition, showing a book by senior Supreme Court lawyer Gopal Shankar Narayan and quoting it, “The Constitution was created by the nation’s brightest minds. Thankfully, it was not influenced by Nehruvian thought.”
BJP MP Giriraj Singh accused Rahul Gandhi of lacking knowledge of history and stated that his family had repeatedly undermined the Constitution. “Whenever the Congress has invoked the Constitution, it has done so for the sake of dictatorship,” he said.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju dismissed Gandhi’s statements on Savarkar, sharing a document on social media in which former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had praised Savarkar as ‘a son of India’ in 1980, just a day before his 100th birth anniversary.