New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday accused the Nehru-Gandhi family of the Congress of hurting, tampering with and disregarding the Constitution at every stage and termed the party’s slogan of “garibi hatao” (remove poverty) the biggest `jumla’ or gimmick played on the people of the country.
Replying to the debate on the Constitution in the Lok Sabha, Modi pointed out that Congress has ruled the nation for 55 of the 75 years since Independence. Stating that he did not want to “personally insult someone”, he added that “Congress’s one family left no stone unturned in hurting the Constitution.”
PM Modi On Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s Term
During Jawaharlal Nehru’s term as PM, he said, from 1947 to 1952, there was no elected government and only an interim arrangement was in place. Yet in 1951, the constitution was changed. He insisted that “this was an insult to the architects of the constitution.” He also accused Nehru of following his own constitution saying that Nehru wrote to the Chief Minister that if the Constitution becomes a hindrance then it should be changed. He said when the President and Speaker warned him, Nehru “followed his own constitution”.
In the years to come, Modi said, the Congress tampered with the Constitution repeatedly. “In six decades, the Constitution was changed 75 times. The seed that was planted by the first PM was taken care of by his daughter and another PM – Indira Gandhi,” he said. Modi said she disregarded the Supreme Court’s decision of 1971 and changed the Constitution to get a hold over the judiciary. Modi said she then imposed the Emergency when the Constitution was completing its 25 years. “The Emergency was imposed, the constitutional rights were denied and the nation was turned into a big jail” he said, adding that the Congress will never be able to erase the “sin of Emergency” from its forehead.
He charged that her son, Rajiv Gandhi, then disregarded the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Shah Bano case and followed his “vote-bank politics.” Then referring to “the next generation of Gandhis”, he charged that they were also “engaged in tampering with the constitution”. Amid protests from the Opposition, Modi said, the National Advisory Council, of which Sonia Gandhi was the chairperson, was constituted as a violation of the constitution to overlook the functioning of the Prime Minister’s Office.
PM Modi On Congress’ “Garibi Hatao” Slogan
The PM also charged that the Congress’s “garibi hatao” slogan was the “biggest jumla (gimmick)” played on the people by one family for many generations. On what his government has done to give the Constitution the respect it deserves, Modi said “We take pride in our constitutional amendments.” He said it removed Article 370 as it was a “hindrance to the unity of the country”.
He also insisted that Section 35A, which too was removed, was imposed by the Congress government, while keeping Parliament in the dark. Then, he said, his government brought in the Citizenship Amendment Act as it “takes pride in such constitutional amendments that correct old mistakes”
