Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman launched a sharp attack on the Congress party in the Rajya Sabha on Monday. She accused the party of amending the Constitution repeatedly for its own gains and to limit civil liberties.
Sitharaman initiated the debate by highlighting that the Constitution, a “living document,” has been amended numerous times over the last seven decades. She focused on the first amendment, introduced under Jawaharlal Nehru’s interim government, which she claimed aimed to curb freedom of speech.
She explained that the first amendment followed a 1950 Supreme Court ruling in favor of the Communist magazine Cross Roads and the RSS publication Organizer. In response, the government felt a Constitutional amendment was necessary, she said. Sitharaman criticized this move, stating it was meant to restrict freedom of expression in India, just one year after the Constitution was adopted.
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“The First Amendment harmed the press and still affects media freedom today,” she added. “It was pushed by PM Nehru, despite opposition from MPs.”
Sitharaman called for a critical evaluation of the amendments, suggesting that the process, outcomes, and adherence to the Constitution’s spirit must be examined. She cited how Nehru personally scrutinized the bill before it was passed, but noted that debates in Parliament were far from smooth.
Sitharaman quoted Syama Prasad Mukherjee, who criticized the amendment, stating, “You trusted the people of this country to write it, and now you are stabbing them in the back.” She also mentioned Kameshwar Singh’s objections to altering the Constitution. According to Sitharaman, these actions showed disregard for the Constitution and bypassed the judiciary.
She warned that the quality of amendments depends on the intentions of those in power. “If the people working on amendments are good, the outcomes will be good; if not, the outcomes will be bad,” she said.
The Finance Minister also accused Congress of undermining the judicial system in the past. She pointed to the amendments made during the Emergency in 1975, particularly in the case of Indira Gandhi vs. Raj Narain. These amendments were, according to Sitharaman, designed to nullify judicial rulings and even ban critical media, including a biography of Nehru and the film Kissa Kursi Ka.
Despite her criticism, Sitharaman praised the Constitution and the Indian people for upholding it. “As we mark 75 years of the Constitution, we must reaffirm our commitment to building an India that embodies its spirit,” she concluded.
She noted that, unlike many other countries that have drastically altered their Constitutions post-independence, India’s Constitution has stood the test of time, undergoing amendments but maintaining its core values.