Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a scathing attack on the Congress party on December 14 during a special discussion marking the 75th anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution. Accusing the Congress of consistently disrespecting and undermining the Constitution, PM Modi highlighted what he called the “indelible sins” of the party, including the imposition of the Emergency and the systematic erosion of constitutional freedoms.
Congress’s Constitutional Violations
In his 110-minute address, PM Modi alleged that Congress had sidelined democratic sentiments within the party to favour Jawaharlal Nehru as Prime Minister and Congress President, despite the majority of state units supporting Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
“Twelve state Congress committees of Congress had agreed on the name of Sardar Patel. There was not a single committee with Nehru ji… As per the Constitution, Sardar Sahib would have become the Prime Minister of the country… How can those who do not believe in the Constitution of their party accept the Constitution of the country?” he said.
PM Modi accused the Congress of repeatedly challenging the sanctity of the Constitution for political gain. “One family of the Congress left no stone unturned in wounding the Constitution. They ruled for 55 of the 75 years of our journey, so the country has the right to know what happened. The tradition of this family’s ill thoughts, perverted politics and practices was continuous. The family repeatedly challenged the Constitution at all levels,” he said.
“Destroying the spirit of the Constitution is in the Congress’s veins. For us, the purity and sanctity of the Constitution is everything,” he added.
Emergency and 35-A
The Prime Minister singled out the Emergency imposed by Indira Gandhi, describing it as a time when “the country was made into a prison and the common citizen’s rights were looted.”
He stated, “The sin of the Congress can never be erased. Democracy was throttled.” Modi also targeted Congress for implementing Article 35A, which accorded special privileges to permanent residents of Jammu and Kashmir, without parliamentary approval. “Congress is full of many examples of this… If there is any first son of the Constitution of India, then it is the Parliament but they have strangled it too. They imposed 35-A on the country without bringing it to the Parliament… This work was done on the orders of the President and the Parliament of the country was kept in the dark,” he alleged.
Amendments and Vote Bank Politics
Referring to the first amendment to the Constitution made by Nehru’s interim government, PM Modi said, “This was an insult of the Constitution’s founders and a grave insult to them. What they couldn’t do in the Constituent Assembly, they did it through the back door. That was a sin.”
He added, “Nehru wrote to chief ministers at the time and said that if the Constitution came in the government’s way, it must be amended. This sin was done in 1951. The country was not quiet. [President] Rajendra Prasad, the Speaker [GV Mavalankar], JB Kripalani and Jayaprakash Narayan told Nehru to stop. But he didn’t heed to these senior leaders’ advice.”
The Prime Minister accused the Congress of amending the Constitution 75 times in six decades. “Congress tasted the blood of amending the Constitution. It kept bloodying the spirit of the Constitution. Indira Gandhi nurtured the seed that the first PM sowed,” he said, pointing to amendments that reversed Supreme Court judgments and undermined judicial independence.
On the Shah Bano controversy, he said, “When the Supreme Court gave rights to the elderly Shah Bano, Rajiv Gandhi bowed to orthodoxy and reversed the ruling through a new law. For vote bank politics, Rajiv Gandhi sacrificed the Constitution. He toyed with the Constitution, a practice that was continued by the next generation.”
Internal Party Undemocratic Practices
Modi accused Congress of lacking respect for internal democracy. “Congress did not follow its own constitution, and made Nehru the leader when state units had supported Sardar Patel. In 1996, Atal Bihari Vajpayee ji sacrificed his 13-day government by not resorting to unconstitutional means. This shows our respect for the Constitution,” he said.
He also brought up the treatment of former Congress President Sitaram Kesri. “Congress threw Sitaram Kesri, who was from Other Backward Classes (OBC), on the footpath, locked him in the bathroom. Tampering with the Constitution and dismantling its spirit is ingrained in the veins of the Congress,” he alleged.
Difference Between BJP and Congress
The Prime Minister drew a stark contrast between the constitutional amendments of the BJP and Congress. “We amended the Constitution for unity, integrity and in national interest, not committed sin for power,” he said. Modi highlighted his government’s amendments for the welfare of backward classes, the implementation of women’s reservations, and the nullification of Article 370.
He cited examples of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, saying, “Other side caused the cash for votes scandal, Parliament was made into a market. But Atal ji was committed to the Constitution.”
Legacy of Constitutional Violations
Modi accused Congress leaders from Nehru to Indira Gandhi of undermining the Constitution. He referred to the 39th amendment during the Emergency, which placed the elections of key constitutional posts beyond judicial scrutiny. “When her election was found unconstitutional by a court, which almost forced her to resign, she got angry and imposed Emergency to save her chair,” he said.
He criticised the Congress for failing to honor Dr. BR Ambedkar’s legacy, alleging that they delayed his Bharat Ratna award and neglected memorial projects. “They were filled with hate and bitterness towards a man everyone reveres,” he said.
Attack on the Gandhi Family
PM Modi’s speech ended with a sharp critique of the Gandhi family’s role in Congress’s decisions. He recalled Rahul Gandhi’s act of tearing an ordinance in 2013. “The decision of the cabinet was torn in public. See the misfortune, one person tears the resolution and the Cabinet changes its decision. What was this system? It was their habit to toy with the Constitution and undermine it,” Modi said.
Accusing the Congress of dynasty politics, he said, “Those who lack democratic spirit, who couldn’t obey their party constitution, how will they respect the country’s constitution?”
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