India Constitution Day Live | President Murmu to address joint sitting of Houses today
She will also release translated versions of the Constitution in Sanskrit and Maithili, and there will be a ceremonial reading of the Preamble
President Droupadi Murmu will address a joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament in the historic Central Hall of Samvidhan Sadan on Tuesday (November 26), kick-starting year-long celebrations to mark 75 years of the adoption of India's Constitution.
The event will be presided by President Murmu while Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be the guest of honour. Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla will also take part in the celebrations.
President Murmu will also release translated versions of the Constitution in Sanskrit and Maithili, and there will be a ceremonial reading of the Preamble led by the president. To mark the occasion, the government will also release a commemorative coin and stamp.
Also read: INDIA bloc leaders write to LS speaker to let LoPs speak at Constitution Day event
LoPs not to address event
The Speaker, the vice president and the president of India will address the gathering, said Union minister Kiren Rijiju.
"Secondly, we have made sitting arrangements for the Leader of Opposition of both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on the dais. Without knowing anything, this kind of reaction on a very solemn occasion is condemnable," Rijiju said.
His remarks came in the wake of leaders of various INDIA bloc parties having written to the Lok Sabha Speaker to allow Opposition leaders of both the Houses to speak during the Constitution Day function.
New website launched
The government on Monday announced that a new website -- https: //constitution75.com -- has been created to enable citizens to engage with the legacy of the Constitution through interactive activities and resources. Mass readings of its Preamble will take place in schools, cities and villages around the country, it also said.
Also read: SC junks pleas challenging inclusion of ‘socialist’, ‘secular’ in Preamble
The landing page of the website carries the words 'Hamara Samvidhan, Hamara Swabhiman'.
The website also has an AI-enabled interactive feature 'Know Your Constitution', where one can ask questions about the Constitution and get detailed answers related to the Constitution of India, the ministry said.
While the Constitution was adopted on November 26, 1949, it came into effect on January 26, 1950 when India became a republic.
(With agency inputs)
The AAP has emerged stronger due to its "honesty and love of the people", party supremo Arvind Kejriwal said on the foundation day of the party on Tuesday, asserting the fight to save the Constitution and democracy will continue.
In a post on X, the former chief minister said the common man found its strength with the founding the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) 12 years ago. He said the journey so far was filled with the stories of struggle, sacrifice and victory.
"In last one year lakhs of attempts were made to finish us but our honesty, love of the people and morale of the workers made us stronger. We stand stronger than before against injustice and dictatorship", Kejriwal said in a post in Hindi. The fight of the AAP to save the Constitution and democracy will go on, he said.
Extending a greeting of 'Constitution Day', Home Minster Amit Shah said that the Constitution is a 'mantra of national unity and integrity by ensuring justice and equal rights.'
“Today India is celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Constitution with great enthusiasm… The strength of democracy of a huge country like India is our Constitution, which gives the mantra of national unity and integrity by ensuring justice and equal rights to every person,” Amit Shah said in a post on X.
“We believe that the Constitution is not just a book to be displayed on stage, but it is the key to make the highest contribution to public life by internalizing it with full devotion. Come! On this Constitution Day, let us pledge to build a strong, prosperous and self-reliant India,” Shah added.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday greeted people on the 75th anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution.
The Constituent Assembly adopted the Constitution at the Central Hall of Parliament on November 26, 1949. The Constitution came into force on January 26, 1950.
The day of its adoption is observed as Samvidhan Divas.
The government has planned a yearlong celebration of the anniversary of the Constitution's adoption, starting with President Droupadi Murmu's address to a joint sitting of parliamentarians in Delhi on Tuesday.
Modi is expected to speak at another event in the evening.
Both the ruling BJP and the opposition parties have been locked in a war of words, accusing each other of working against the constitutional values.