In Mann Ki Baat, Modi praises makers of 'sacred' Constitution

Highlights from address

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday paid tributes to the members of the Constituent Assembly who helped frame the "sacred" document, and urged the citizens to "work towards building" an India they would be proud of.

Addressing this year's first edition of his monthly radio broadcast, "Mann Ki Baat", Modi stressed that this year's Republic Day is particularly special as it marks the 75th anniversary of the Indian Constitution.

"This year marks 75 years of the Constitution coming into force. I salute all those great personalities of the Constituent Assembly, who gave us our sacred Constitution. During the Constituent Assembly, long deliberations were held on many subjects. Those discussions, the thoughts of the members of the Constituent Assembly, their words, are our great heritage," he said.

He also played short audio clips of the speeches of some of the members of India's constituent assembly - Rajendra Prasad, Bhim Rao Ambedkar and Syama Prasad Mookerjee - to highlight the values they promoted.

He said Ambedkar's speech emphasised on the fact that the Constituent Assembly should be "united, have one opinion and work together for the common good", while Prasad's highlighted India's commitment to humanistic values.

BJP ideologue Mookerjee's speech expressed hope that, "...we shall go ahead with our work in spite of all difficulties and thereby help to create the great India."

Modi said: "We, the citizens of the country, taking inspiration from these thoughts, have to work towards building such an India that even the makers of our Constitution would be proud of."

'India is the Mother of Democracy' The PM also hailed the Election Commission of India (ECI) for "modernising and strengthening our voting process", ahead of its foundation day on January 25, which is observed as the National Voters' Day.