‘Congress repeatedly wounded Constitution after tasting blood’: PM Modi’s stinging attack in Lok Sabha

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched a scathing attack on the Congress, saying ‘one family’ of the party had left no stone unturned in hurting the Constitution.

Speaking in Lok Sabha in reply to a two-day debate on the 75 years of the adoption of the Constitution, Modi trained hiss guns at the past Congress governments, citing various decisions taken by former prime ministers Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi.

“One Congress family relentlessly was pursuing wrong thoughts, wrong deeds and wrong policies. One Congress family changed the Constitution to attack the freedom of expression, it was an insult to the founders of Constitution,” Modi said.

The prime minister alleged that Nehru had written to the chief ministers that if Constitution came in the way, it should be changed. “The seeds sown by first PM Nehru in changing the Constitution was followed up by Indira Gandhi who even overturned a Supreme Court’s decision,” he said.

Modi noted that Indira Gandhi had clipped the wings of courts through Constitutional amendments to capture judiciary. “Having tasted blood, Indira Gandhi imposed Emergency by misusing Constitution”.

Indira Gandhi imposed Emergency to save her chair as prime minister, Modi 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

Mentioning the Shah Bano case, the prime minister said Rajiv Gandhi had dealt big blow to the Constitution by overturning the SC ruling.

The current generation of the Gandhi family taking forward legacy of attacking Constitution after tasting blood long back, he further said.

‘India mother of democracy’

Noting that the founding fathers of the Constitution were very conscious of democratic legacy of the country, Modi said India is not just a large democracy, but mother of democracy due to thousands of years of democratic traditions.

The prime minister asserted that the country's ancient democratic roots have long been an inspiration for the world.

Modi acknowledged that unity is the biggest requirement to achieve India’s resolve to become a developed country by 2047. "Our Constitution is the basis of our unity," he added.

Citing remarks of eminent personalities like Purushottam Das Tandon and Bhim Rao Ambedkar, the prime minister said: “Those involved in the making of the Constitution were well aware that India was not born in 1947 or turned democratic in 1950”.

Modi noted that women were at the centre of every initiative of the government and their representation in parliament and council of ministers had been increasing.

“Several nations gave voting rights to women quite late, but in India the Constitution gave this right to women at the outset,” he claimed.