Rajya Sabha LIVE | 'Those who burnt copies of Constitution are trying to teach us': Kharge
Opening the debate in the Rajya Sabha, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said India's Constitution has stood the test of time in the last 75 years of its existence.
Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday (December 16) slammed the BJP-RSS, saying those who burnt the copies of the Constitution and the effigies of Babasaheb Ambedkar are “trying to teach us about it”.
Leading the charge from the Opposition benches, Kharge said, “Those people who hate national flag, those who hate our 'Ashok Chakra', those who hate the Constitution... such people are trying to teach us. What is this? When this Constitution was made...these people burn the Constitution. They torched effigies of Babasaheb Ambedkar, Jawaharlal Nehru, Mahatma Gandhi at Ramleela Maidan (in Delhi) the day the Constitution was adopted.”
He also took a jibe at Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, saying, “I have to tell them that I also know how to read. I have studied in municipality school, she (Nirmala Sitharaman) has studied in Jawaharlal Nehru University, it is certain that her English will be good, her Hindi will be good, but the deeds are not good.”
Also read: PM a ‘distorian’ who ‘puts WhatsApp University to shame’: Congress after speech
Raising the issue of the alleged atrocities on the minorities in Bangladesh, Kharge said, “...Our brave leader Indira Gandhi divided Pakistan into two parts and liberated Bangladesh... The pride of this country spread across the world. The chaos that is going on there (in Bangladesh), at least these (BJP) people should open their eyes and try to save the minorities there.”
Earlier, opening the debate in the Rajya Sabha on "75 years of Indian Constitution", Sitharaman said India's Constitution has stood the test of time in the last 75 years of its existence.
Heated debate in Lok Sabha
The debate in the Lok Sabha was initiated on Friday (December 13) by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, followed by speeches by Opposition MPs including Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, and Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra, among others.
On Saturday (December 14), Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi spoke at length.
While the opposition parties accused the BJP-led central government of undermining the Constitution, PM Modi accused the Congress party of repeatedly “mutilating” the Constitution.
The Congress on Saturday termed PM Modi’s 11 resolutions he articulated in his speech in the Lok Sabha as “hollow”, and called him a “distorian par excellence who puts WhatsApp University to shame”.
The opposition party also questioned why PM Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh were not present in the House when Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi spoke during the debate.
Also read: Ready for Constitution debate in Rajya Sabha 'if BJP doesn't disrupt': O'Brien
RS debate in backdrop of no-trust vote against Dhankhar
The debate in the Rajya Sabha will be in the backdrop of a no-trust motion against Vice President and Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar by Opposition parties which have submitted a notice for it.
According to sources, 10-11 MPs will participate in the debate, and will speak for 3-4 minutes each. They will highlight the essence of ten keywords from the Preamble of the Constitution, speaking on themes like equality, justice, sovereignty, independence, democracy, and socialism.
The Rajya Sabha will hold the debate on December 16 and 17, and PM Modi is expected to reply on Tuesday (December 17).
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Live Updates
- 16 Dec 2024 12:21 PM IST
India's Constitution has stood the test of time: Nirmala Sitharaman
India's Constitution has stood the test of time in the last 75 years of its existence, even as most of the 50 countries that framed their constitution around the same time have rewritten or changed features of their Constitutions, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Monday (December 16).
Initiating the discussion on the 'Glorious Journey of 75 Years of the Constitution of India' in the Rajya Sabha, she paid homage to the 389 members of the Constituent Assembly, including 15 women, who took up the arduous challenge and prepared the Constitution for India in a very challenging environment.
The Constitution of India "has stood the test of time," she said.
"Today we are extremely proud of the way India's democracy is growing. As the country marks the 75th year of its Constitution, it is time to reaffirm our commitment to build India, that is Bharat, that shall uphold the spirit enshrined in this sacred document," she said.
Stating that India and its Constitution stand out in a separate league of its own, Sitharaman said post the second World War, over 50 countries had become independent and they 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, it yielded itself to very many amendments," she said, adding that amendments were the need of the hour.
Rajya Sabha will debate on the issue on Monday and Tuesday (December 16 and 17).
Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar said time would not be a constraint and as many speakers willing to speak would be accommodated by extending the duration of the discussion.
- 16 Dec 2024 12:06 PM ISTIn Rajya Sabha, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, "Majrooh Sultanpuri and Balraj Sahni were both jailed in 1949. During one of the meetings organised for the mill workers in 1949, Majrooh Sultanpuri recited a poem that was written against Jawaharlal Nehru and therefore he had to go to jail. He refused to render an apology for the same and was jailed...Congress's record of curtailing freedom of speech didn't confine it to these two people. "Nehru", a political biography which was written by Michael Edwards in 1975 was banned. They banned also a film called "Kissa Kursi Ka" just because it questioned Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and her son..."
- 16 Dec 2024 11:55 AM IST
Congress brought in first Constitutional amendment to curb freedom of expression: Sitharaman
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 INC and it was essentially to curb the freedom. So India, a democratic country which prides itself even today about 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: Nirmala Sitharaman
