Spirit of Constitution Trampled

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday attacked the Congress for not abiding by the spirit of the Constitution and showing scant regard for freedom of speech, pointing out that the first amendment was brought "by a stopgap government" that sought to curtail freedom of speech, and listed how various artistes bore the brunt of excesses during the Emergency.

- Smriti Kak Ramachandran

NEW DELHI:

Speaking in the Rajya Sabha during the motion of thanks to the President's Address, the PM said, "A stop-gap government amended the Constitution to curb freedom of speech...It was not even an elected government."

The PM was referring to the first amendment to the Constitution in 1951, introduced by then PM Jawaharlal Nehru. The amendment added "reasonable" before the word "restrictions" as the reasonability of a restriction was to be determined by a court of law. It also added categories such as "public order", "friendly relations with foreign states", "security of the State" and "incitement to an offence" as restrictions on the freedom of speech and expression.

Even as the Opposition protested, the PM went on to accuse the Congress of trampling on the "spirit of the Constitution" by imposing the Emergency, "Satta ke sukh; shahi parivaar ke ahankaar ke liye desh ko jail khana bana diya... (for the sake of power and for appeasing the ego of the royal family, the whole country was turned into a prison)...

In his 90-minute speech, the PM criticised the Congress for its policies, which he said resulted in leaving important projects hanging, and slowing economic growth.