PM: Congress weaponised Constitution for gains

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched a scathing attack on the Congress, accusing it of routinely “hunting and weaponising the Constitution for political gains” after having “tasted the blood of amending” it.

Modi’s 11 pledges

Commitment to duties; growth for all regions; zero tolerance for corruption; adherence to the country's laws; end to slavery mindset, pride in legacy; end to dynastic politics; stopping misuse of Constitution; constitutionally guaranteed quota should stay, no to religion-based reservation; women-led growth; development through regional advancement; ‘Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat’ for fostering unity.

Replying to a two-day discussion in the Lok Sabha on 75 years of adoption of the Constitution, the PM said while national unity was the abiding consensus of Constitution makers, it was being assaulted post-Independence.

“It pains me to say that national unity has suffered the gravest assault due to distorted visions and vested interests after the Independence. We celebrate our unity in diversity but those raised with the mindset of slavery...those who think India was born in 1947, they kept looking for contradictions in our diversity, kept sowing seeds of poison with an intention to harm our unity,” Modi said in a veiled attack on the Congress. After a focused critique of the main opposition party’s first family — Jahawarlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi to Rajiv Gandhi — the PM took the occasion to announce 11 pledges for all to follow as India marched towards ‘Viksit Bharat’. He urged commitment to duties; end to dynastic politics; conviction to thwart attempts of religion based reservations, zero tolerance for corruption and prevention of the use of the Constitution as a tool for politics.

A ballistic PM, in a nearly two-hour speech, singled out the Nehru-Gandhi family for an all-out attack. “One family of the Congress has not left any stone unturned in hurting the Constitution. I say this because out of 75 years, this family ruled for 55. Their mal intent continues unabated. At every level, this family has challenged the Constitution,” PM said, adding that the Constitution was amended 75 times in six decades.

Starting with the first constitutional amendment in 1951 to Rajiv Gandhi’s move of overturning the Shah Bano judgment, Modi said the Congress’ first family had “tasted the blood of playing with the Constitution”.

“In 1951, there was no elected government. Yet an ordinance was brought to change the Constitution and muzzle press freedom. Nehru wrote to CMs saying the Constitution should be amended if it stands in our way. He did not heed President Rajendra Prasad who warned against such a move. ‘Pandit ji ka apna samvidhan chalta tha’. The Congress had tasted the blood of amending the Constitution. It kept hunting the Constitution again and again,” said Modi, adding that the seed Nehru sowed was nurtured by Indira and Rajiv with even the “current generations of the family continuing to play with the Constitution”.

Citing the Emergency, 1971 constitutional amendment; Nehru, Indira and Rajiv’s stated “anti-reservation positions”, the PM said, “The Constitution makers debated religion-based reservation for days and decided against it in the interest of national unity and integrity. But the Congress in its power lust and to appease its vote bank is playing the game of religion-based reservation and has even granted this.” “Now they are saying they will do this and that when indeed their real intention is to grant reservation on the basis of religion, which our founding fathers barred,” he said.

He mentioned that the Constituent Assembly wanted elected governments to implement the Uniform Civil Code. “In deference to them and SC orders, we are taking strong steps towards a secular civil code,” the PM said. He also brought up the National Advisory Council chaired by former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi’s act of tearing up the ordinance of PM Manmohan Singh’s UPA Cabinet to accuse the Congress of being habituated to insulting the Constitution.

“An arrogant man tore up a Cabinet decision and the Cabinet changed its decision. What system is this?” Modi asked. The PM interspersed his speech with details of the constitutional amendments made under the NDA rule and said those were made to strengthen national unity (abrogation of Article 370), economic justice (10% EWS quota), women’s empowerment (Women’s quota Bill) and unified markets (GST).

The PM added that NDA’s Citizenship Amendment Act was a culmination of Mahatma Gandhi’s promise that India would always care for the minorities in neighbouring countries.

Listing the various initiatives the BJP-led dispensation had taken for poverty alleviation and welfare of the poor, Modi called late Indira Gandhi’s “Garibi hatao” slogan the “biggest jumla in Indian political history”. He said while banks were nationalised in the name of the poor by her, 50 crore Indians did not have bank accounts till his government came in 2014.

The PM also tore into the Congress for failing to follow its own party constitution, recalling how Nehru became PM even when he “did not have the support of a single state Congress committee unlike Sardar Patel who had 12 votes”. “How can a party that does not honour its own constitution accept the Constitution of the nation?” the PM asked.