The spirit of “nation first” will keep alive the Constitution for centuries to come, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday as the government oragnaised multiple events to start a year-long celebration to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution.
Addressing an event at the Supreme Court to mark Constitution Day, the Prime Minister described the Constitution as a “living stream” that has lived up to the needs and expectations of the country, including the challenge of Emergency in 1975.
Constitution Day: Follow LIVE updates on November 26, 2024
Mr. Modi hailed the Constitution as a “guiding light” at a time of transformation for India and asserted that his government has strengthened constitutional values by taking a host of welfare measures to bring social and financial equality.
The Prime Minister said the Constitution has now been fully implemented in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) and Constitution Day was celebrated there for the first time, in an apparent reference to the dilution of special status of J&K under Article 370.
Mr. Modi also paid homage to the victims of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks and said that the country has resolved that all terror groups challenging its security will be given a befitting reply.
Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna, Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, Supreme Court Bar Association president Kapil Sibal and Bar Council of India chairman Manan Kumar Mishra were among those who addressed the event.
Recalling the words of Rajendra Prasad in his concluding address to the Constituent Assembly on November 26, 1949, Mr. Modi said he (Mr. Prasad) had stated that India does not need anything more than a group of honest people who will keep the country’s interests above their own.
“This sentiment of ‘nation first’ will keep alive the Constitution for centuries to come,” the Prime Minister said. His statement is politically significant as it comes in the backdrop of Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi’s relentless attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party, alleging that the ruling party wanted to “destroy the Constitution”.
“Our Constitution makers knew that India’s aspirations, India’s dreams will reach new heights with time. They knew that the needs of independent India and its citizens will change, challenges will change. That is why they did not leave our Constitution as just a mere book of laws. Rather, they made it a living, continuously flowing stream,” Mr. Modi said.
The Prime Minister cited a host of welfare measures undertaken by his government, including the opening of bank accounts for more than 53 crore people, homes for over four crore poor families, the scheme to provide cooking gas cylinders to needy women, and health insurance scheme for the poor among others, to highlight the efforts at ensuring social and economic equality envisaged by the Constitution. He noted that the original edition of the calligraphed Constitution carried pictures of Lord Ram, Sita, Guru Nanak, Buddha and Mahavir among others and said the makers of the guiding document did it to remind citizens of human values.
Ending his address on a lighter note, Mr. Modi said he has tried to keep himself within the boundaries of the job assigned to him by the Constitution. “I have not tried any encroachment. I have tried to put forward my views within the boundaries. Only a hint is enough here, there is no need to say much,” he said in what appeared to be comments made in the context of his speech, which followed the addresses of several speakers including Mr. Sibal.
In his address, Mr Sibal had said constitutional courts play the role of reminding the government of the “centrality of the public in our republic” as they check disproportionate action and prevent government excesses, and both the bench and the bar play a very important part in the process.
Published - November 26, 2024 10:23 pm IST
