It’s Congress vs BJP in the Lok Sabha on Constitution Day
Winter session of Parliament commences. Lok Sabha session underway, Rajya Sabha adjourned for the day.
Leaders across party lines continue with their speeches on Constitution Day.
Congress’ Mallikarjun Kharge Targets Modi
Kharge says, “The prime minister must crack the whip on his partymen making irresponsible statements. He must condemn and advice them against such statements”.
“If the government does not agree with the views of a minister, who is also a former army man for instance, then the prime minister should say so”.
Mallikarjun Kharge, leader of Congress in Lok Sabha, rakes up Rajnath Singh’s comment this morning on the Preamble.
Kharge says, “There is an advertisement this morning with the photo of the prime minister and Dr BR Amdedkar with the Preamble. But then the home minister made that comment on the word ‘secular’ on the floor of the House”.
Paswan’s One Line Advice to Modi and Sonia
LJP Leader Ram Vilas Pawan makes a speech in the Lok Sabha about the constitution to mark Constitution Day.
Paswan said, “The government must keep a balance between the rich and the poor people of the country. The rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer is not the way to be”.
He also referred to Sonia Gandhi’s speech where she quoted Ambedkar and said, “No matter how good the constitution, the end result will be bad if the executioners do a bad job”. He said he is aware of that truth and had seen it during Indira Gandhi’s Emergency.
As Lok Sabha session resumes, BJD leader Tathagata Satpathy says, “The home minister today said that wielding a broom is new to India. The King of Puri cleaned Lord Jagannath’s passage. We learned that our rulers must be humble”.
“When my mother was Chief Minister she cleaned her own room. So it is not new to India”.
He also spoke of the Rajnath Singh’s comments on the word secular. “I do not speak Hindi so I do not know. But let’s not have a miopic view of secularism. Let’s not say that when translated into Hindi, a certain word becomes perverted”.
Congress vs BJP Over Rajnath’s Remarks
Politicians from across party lines comment on Rajnath Singh and Sonia Gandhi’s speeches in the Parliament over the Indian constitution and the intolerance debate in the country.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu said, “I do not find anything said by Rajnath Singh objectionable”.
“The whole nation knows who has subverted the constitution and who has amended the constitution putting opposition leader behind bars,” he added referring to the Emergency while Congress’ Indira Gandhi was prime minister.
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said, “ To question the application of the word ‘secularism’ and splitting hair on it is mere wordplay and not advisable”.
Lok Sabha adjourned till 2:10 pm.
Sonia’s Veiled Attack on Modi Govt
Congress President Sonia Gandhi says there is no debate over the fact that secularism is one of the core values of the Indian constitution.
In a veiled attack on the government, Sonia said, “No matter how good a country’s constitution, if those responsible for these duties do a bad job, the end result will be bad”.
Members of the Congress party cheer as Sonia makes her speech.
“And no matter how bad a constitution, if those at the helm do a good job, the end result will be good,” she added.
Sonia Gandhi ends her speech with a salute to Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel and Dr Rajendra Prasad.
Congress members cheer as Sonia Gandhi says the Congress party nominated Dr BR Ambedkar to the constituent assembly. Leaders from the Congress party including Sonia Gandhi as well as those in the BJP break into a smile as Sonia makes the statement.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi addresses the Lok Sabha.
She says, “The Indian Constitution was formed as a result of decades long struggle. Mahatma Gandhiji had made a huge contribution in this struggle”.
Opposition leaders disrupt Rajnath Singh’s speech as he begins listing out programmes launched by the Modi government.
Rajnath Singh says our government is following the vision laid out by Ambedkar. “We want to stick to our motto sabka saath, sabka vikas,” says Rajnath Singh.
“No one will be discriminated on the basis on religion or on any other lines if they adhere to the Constitution of India,” he added.
Rajnath Singh says those who wielded a broom were not respected in this country but for the first time Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Swachh Bharat campaign changed that perception.
Mallikarjun Kharge, the leader of Congress in Lok Sabha, says Ambedkar wanted to include the word ‘secular’ in the Constitution but he faced opposition.
Rajnath Singh continues his speech amid objection from opposition leaders.
Speaking of secularism, Rajnath Singh says it is the one word that is completely being misused today. Singh says Ambedkar did not include the word ‘secular’ in the Preamble for precisely this reason.
Opposition Objects to Rajnath’s Remarks on Preamble
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh says, “Our founding fathers believed that Preamble is soul of the Constitution and no changes should be made to that”.
Rajnath Singh says, “If Ambedkar felt it was necessary to include the words socialist and secular in the Preamble, he would have done it”.
After Opposition objects to his remarks, Rajnath Singh clarified that he meant, “These words were not included because Ambedkar felt they were already a part of the Indian society.”
Ambedkar Never Said he Will Leave the Country: Rajnath
Speaking of Dr BR Ambedkar’s vision for India, Rajnath Singh says, “No matter what the environment in the country, Ambedkar never said he will leave the country and go away to a far off place.”
Rajnath Singh was referring to the controversy sparked by actor Aamir Khan’s statement. Khan had said that his wife suggested leaving the country in the context of the “growing intolerance” debate.
Opposition leaders present in the House did not appreciate the statement. Rajnath Singh resumed his speech after a brief interruption.
A debate on the GST bill in this session is expected to take the House by a storm.
At the moment, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh is speaking in the lower house about Dr BR Ambedkar to mark Constitution Day. Speaker Sumatra Mahajan has made the opening remarks. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also present.
Before entering the House, Modi had said, “There cannot be a bigger platform for a dialogue than the House. Debates, disputes and dialogues are the soul of Parliament. For other things, the entire country is available as an arena”.
The winter session of the Parliament has commenced. Lok Sabha observes two minutes of silence for the victims of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks.
Rajya Sabha adjourned for the day after obituary references.
Read: Winter Session: Tactical Shift in Congress’ Plan to Woo India Inc
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