New Delhi: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who initiated the debate on the Constitution in Rajya Sabha on Monday, launched a sharp attack on Congress, accusing the party of amending the Constitution repeatedly to restrict civil liberties and for their gains.
“In the last seven decades, this living document, our Constitution, has seen many amendments,” she said, alleging that the first amendment under Nehru’s interim government “curbed the freedom of speech”.
Giving details about the First Amendment, Sitharaman said, “…The Supreme Court in 1950 had ruled in favour of the Communist magazine “Cross Roads” and the RSS organisational magazine “Organizer”. But in response, the (then) interim government thought that there was a need for a first Constitutional amendment and that was brought in by the Indian National Congress (INC) and it was essentially to curb the freedom. So India, a democratic country which prides itself even today on freedom of expression saw the first interim government coming up with a Constitutional amendment which was to curb the freedom of speech of Indians and that within one year of adoption of the Constitution…”
“This First Amendment was done to harm the press and it is still affecting the freedom of media. This amendment was done by PM Nehru despite MPs being against it,” she said.
She said a critical evaluation of amendments based on four criteria: whether they were genuine, their outcomes for the people, the processes adopted, and adherence to the Constitution’s spirit, was required.
“The first Prime Minister of this country scrutinized the amending bill himself before its approval in Parliament. However, the debate in Parliament was far from smooth. Shri Syama Prasad Mukherjee remarked: ‘You can pass a law and claim to frame and form the Constitution, but now you are treating this Constitution as mere paper. You trusted the people of this country to write it, and now you come forward and stab them in the back.’ Kameshwar Singh, a member of the Constituent Assembly, also expressed disagreement, stating: ‘It is highly improper to make such changes to the Constitution.’ These actions showed an utter disregard for the Constitution, bypassing the judiciary,” she said.
“Those who are working on amending the Constitution, if they are good people outcome will be good, if they are bad people outcome will be bad,” said the Union Minister.
“Today, we hear comments from the Congress party on the judicial system, but they themselves went to great lengths in the past to undermine it. For instance, to nullify judgments, they introduced amendments. In the case of Indira Gandhi vs. Raj Narain, during the Emergency in 1975, a biography of Nehru was banned, and the film ‘Kissa Kursi Ka’ was also banned just because it questioned Indira Gandhi and raised critical issues…That’s the extent they went to bypass judicial scrutiny. Congress speaks about protecting rights and also the judicial system…how?”
The Finance Minister while lauding the Consitution and the people of India said, ” As we mark 75 years of the Constitution, it is time, I think, to reaffirm our commitment to building India, that is Bharat, which upholds the spirit and shines through this sacred document.”
“…Post Second World War, over 50 countries had become independent and had their Constitution written. But many have changed their Constitutions, not just amended them but literally changed the entire feature of their Constitution. But our Constitution has stood the test of time, of course, yielded itself to very many amendments.”
(IANS)
