Parliament LIVE | Constitution is not the Sangh’s rulebook: Priyanka
The Lok Sabha is witnessing a two-day debate on the Constitution
Launching a scathing attack at the Narendra Modi government during the debate on Constitution in the Lok Sabha on Friday (December 13), Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi alleged that the BJP would have started work on changing the Constitution had it not been for the General Elections polls in which it barely scraped through to victory.
Giving her maiden speech in the Lok Sabha, Priyanka said the Constitution was a protective shield of justice, unity and freedom of expression but the government made every effort to break it during the past 10 years.
Also read: How Constitution Day has reignited NDA-INDIA war over 'saving the Constitution'
“This government is working to weaken the reservation policy through lateral entry and privatisation. Had the Lok Sabha election results not come as they have, the government would have started the work on changing the Constitution," she said.
‘Mangalsutra’ dig at BJP
"The truth is that they are chanting 'Constitution' because they realised that the people of this country will keep the Constitution alive," said the Lok Sabha member from Wayanad.
Also read: How Rahul Gandhi kept the Constitution alive at every election since 2024 LS polls
She said the people were demanding a caste-based census and even the ruling party was talking about it because of the election results.
"When the entire opposition called for a caste-based census, they talked about cattle and 'mangalsutra' getting stolen," Priyanka said in an apparent reference to the Lok Sabha election campaign.
Congress tried to ‘hijack’ Constitution: Rajnath
Union Defence Minister and senior BJP leader Rajnath Singh, who initiated the debate in the lower house of Parliament accused Congress of being intolerant towards independence and autonomy of institutions and attempting to destroy the basic principles of the Constitution.
Also read: SC junks pleas challenging inclusion of ‘socialist’, ‘secular’ in Preamble
Singh said the contribution of several leaders in the making of the Constitution was deliberately ignored and hit out at the Congress, asserting that "a particular party" always tried to "hijack and appropriate" the framing of the Constitution.
"On many occasions, the Congress has disrespected the Constitution and its spirit. It could not tolerate the independence and autonomy of institutions. It always tried to destroy the basic principles of the Constitution," he alleged.
"Talk of protection of the Constitution does not seem appropriate coming from it. These days, I see many opposition leaders keep the Constitution in their pockets. Actually, this is what they have learnt from childhood, they have seen their families keep the Constitution in their pockets for generations," he said.
The BJP, however, he said, bows before the Constitution and has never played with the independence and autonomy of institutions.
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Live Updates
- 13 Dec 2024 4:56 PM IST
RS proceedings adjourned till Monday amid ruckus over no confidence notice against Dhankhar
The opposition move to seek impeachment of Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar led to pandemonium in the Rajya Sabha on Friday, with opposition and treasury benches clashing and the Chairman too wading into the issue.
The proceedings of the House, which have been marred because of the issue and the Adani controversy, were adjourned in the first hour itself but not before Dhankhar, saying he was a farmer's son and he will not "show weakness".
“Day in and day out there is only a campaign against the Chairman…..it's a campaign not against me, it's a campaign against category to which I belong,” he asserted.
“I am personally pained for a reason that the main opposition party has put is as a blitz as a campaign against the Chairman. They are entitled to bring motion against me. This is their constitutional right but they are deviating from the constitutional provisions…," he said.
The Chairman, before adjourning the proceedings at around 11.45 AM till Monday, appealed to Leader of Opposition in the House Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of the House J P Nadda to come to his chamber for finding a way out to end the logjam.
"I appeal to you Khargeji, please spare time, accept my prayer, see me in my chamber today. Same request I am making to the Leader of the House also...I will try to navigate things so that we are able to work as member of the House. I would expect Kharge Ji to respond. Lets us meet in my chamber and find a way out," Dhankhar said.
To this, a visibly angry Kharge retorted: "How can I respect you. You are insulting me".
As he was speaking, the Chair adjourned the proceedings till Monday.
- 13 Dec 2024 4:41 PM IST
Priyanka's discussion in LS different from Constitution: BJP MP Manoj Tiwari
The most important thing was that we listened to Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's speech very carefully. All our MPs respected her a lot...She (Priyanka Gandhi) perhaps unknowingly said a lot of bad things about the government of Himachal Pradesh...She said that the people of the country remove cowards, which is correct because the people of the country have removed Congress...Her discussion was different from the Constitution: BJP MP Manoj Tiwari on Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's address in LS.
- 13 Dec 2024 3:16 PM IST
Better than my maiden speech: Rahul hails Priyanka's LS speech
Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi lauded Priyanka Gandhi's speech in the Lok Sabha on Friday and said it was better than his maiden speech in the House.
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was unmoved over the incidents of violence in Sambhal and Manipur and had not understood that the Constitution was not the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's (RSS) rulebook.
Participating in a debate on the Constitution in the Lok Sabha, the member of Parliament from Kerala's Wayanad said the Constitution is a protective shield of justice, unity and freedom of expression, but the BJP-led government has made every effort to break it in the last 10 years.
Asked about the speech, Congress leader and Priyanka Gandhi's brother Rahul Gandhi told reporters outside Parliament, "Wonderful speech.... Better than my maiden speech, let us put it like that." Rahul Gandhi became an MP for the first time in 2004.
- 13 Dec 2024 3:03 PM IST
She put all facts before government: Kharge praises Priyanka
"Excellent speech. Very good. She put all the facts before the Government - how the Constitution is being misused and they are not protecting women & people of this country...We are very happy about her performance," says Rajya Sabha LoP Mallikarjun Kharge on the maiden address of Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in Lok Sabha.
- 13 Dec 2024 3:00 PM IST
She rightly pointed out to govt to focus on present than harp on past: Tharoor hails Priyanka
Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Friday hailed Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's maiden speech in Parliament, saying she did not speak like a first-time MP and rightly pointed out to the government that it should talk about current times rather than harping on the past.
Asked about her speech, Tharoor told reporters, "I think it was an excellent maiden speech. She did not speak like a first-time parliamentarian who, as she said, has had only 15 days in Parliament. She spoke with tremendous maturity, tremendous grace, tremendous intelligence. I was very impressed." "The difficulty in speaking for the first time is whether you should show passion or shout or whether you come across in a sensible, dignified and rational way. I think she was right to choose the latter," the former Union minister said.
Tharoor said that since Union minister Rajnath Singh had made a very strong speech attacking the history of the Congress, Gandhi very rightly pointed out that "when will you talk about today, why should you talk about yesterday".
"It was very effective and she made all the points, all the key issues that we have seen and trouble us in the country that the way in which the Constitution has been working. She has done a wonderful job," he said.
