New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched a scathing attack on Congress party, saying that one family has done everything to hurt the Constitution.
“I do not want to criticise anybody personally… but one family of Congress has done everything to crush the Constitution… and I say one family because one family has ruled for 55 years,” Modi stated in Parliament while replying to the debate on 75 years of the adoption of Indian Constitution.
Referring to the late Jawaharlal Nehru, independent India’s first Prime Minister, Modi said it was he who had set the stage for altering the Constitution, a legacy carried forward by his daughter Indira Gandhi.
#WATCH | Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “Congress has constantly disrespected the Constitution, reduced the importance of the Constitution. Congress is full of many examples of this… Everyone knows about 370 but very few know about 35-A… If there is any first son… pic.twitter.com/cB8XTdlJ9P
— ANI (@ANI) December 14, 2024
“The seeds sown by the first prime minister (Pandit Nehru) in changing Constitution was followed up by another prime minister, that was Indira Gandhi, who even overturned a verdict of the Supreme Court in 1971,” he said.
Modi said that the Constitution was “torn apart” when it was just 25 years old. “The Emergency, imposed in 1975, stripped away all constitutional rights, turning the country into a jail. All the rights of the citizens were snatched and there was a clampdown on media,” Modi stated.
The Congress party’s actions during this period left a permanent ‘stain’. “This sin can never be erased. Whenever democracy will be discussed across the world, Congress’ sin will never be erased because democracy was strangled,” the PM claimed.
Modi and his party BJP have often been criticised by the Congress for trying to destroy the Constitution and democracy. On Saturday, Modi went on relentlessly to try and turn the tables on the main Opposition party.
He pointed out that Indira Gandhi had undermined the judiciary’s independence, and blamed her for using Constitutional amendments to seize control of the courts and diminish their power.
“She even clipped the wings of courts through Constitutional amendments to capture judiciary,” Modi roared.
He didn’t even spare Rajiv Gandhi, who became Prime Minister after the assassination of his mother Indira Gandhi.
Referring to the Shah Bano case, Modi stated: “The legacy that began with former PM Pandit JL Nehru was carried forward by Indira Gandhi, and when Rajiv Gandhi became the prime minister, he continued to attack the Constitution. The Supreme Court gave its verdict in the Shah Bano case, giving respect and honouring the rights of a woman. However, the then PM Rajiv Gandhi overturned the Supreme Court verdict in the Shah Bano case for vote bank politics.”
Slamming the Gandhi family for making it a habit to insult and disregard the Constitution, Modi said the current generation is continuing this legacy.
“The current generation of Gandhi family is taking forward the legacy of attacking the Constitution after tasting blood long back,” he quipped.
“Changing the Constitution became their habit. The Congress got a taste of hunting and did it repeatedly. They attacked the Constitution again and again. It was changed 75 times,” the PM said.
Modi also slammed the Congress for the ‘biggest jumla in India’.
“It was Garibi Hatao… four generations used it,” Modi said scornfully.
#WATCH | During the discussion on the 75th anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution of India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “Congress is very fond of one word. Their favorite word is – ‘Jumla’… The country knows that if there was any biggest Jumla in India and it… pic.twitter.com/4w835vn9NL
— ANI (@ANI) December 14, 2024
