December 16, 2024: The debate marking the 75th anniversary of the Indian Constitution in the Rajya Sabha took a sharp turn as Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman launched a scathing attack on the Congress party, accusing it of repeatedly undermining the Constitution through various amendments. Sitharaman's remarks were made during a session that saw a clash of ideologies between her and the Congress leadership, with Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge also entering the fray.
Sitharaman’s speech aimed to highlight the alleged misuse of Constitutional amendments by the Congress, starting with the first amendment in 1951. She emphasized that this amendment was primarily designed to curb freedom of speech and expression, a stance she argued was rooted in the concerns of India's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. "India prides itself even today on the freedom of expression. But the first interim government came up with a Constitutional amendment to curb this very freedom. This was due to the first Prime Minister's discomfort with press scrutiny, even as he publicly praised freedom of the press," she asserted.
The Finance Minister also referenced incidents from 1949, notably the arrest of poet-lyricist Majrooh Sultanpuri and actor Balraj Sahni. She claimed that Sultanpuri was imprisoned after reciting a poem critical of Nehru during a mill workers’ meeting, where Sahni was also detained. "That is the level of tolerance during that time. And yet, today, we hold the Constitution in our hands and talk about freedom of speech. There is a sense of fear in our country," she remarked, directing her criticism at Congress' claims of upholding constitutional values.
Further, Sitharaman cited several examples of censorship during the Congress-led governments, including the banning of the book Nehru: A Political Biography by Michael Edwardes and the film Kissa Kursi Ka in 1975, both seen as critical of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. She also referred to the 1988 ban on Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses, continuing her theme of Congress stifling freedom of expression.
On the topic of amendments, Sitharaman contended that the Congress government had repeatedly used them not to strengthen democracy but to protect its own power. She highlighted the 39th Amendment in 1975, enacted to shield Indira Gandhi from legal challenges following the Allahabad High Court's ruling on election malpractices. "For a person to save her chair, an amendment was made even before the court judgment," she said, referring to how this amendment insulated the top political offices from judicial review.
The Finance Minister also pointed to the Shah Bano case, when Rajiv Gandhi's government passed the Muslim Women Protection of Rights on Divorce Act in 1986 to overturn a Supreme Court judgment granting a Muslim woman alimony. "These amendments were not about strengthening democracy but about protecting those in power," she reiterated.
In stark contrast, Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of the Opposition, responded forcefully, accusing the BJP of undermining both the Constitution and the national flag. He claimed that the BJP government posed a threat to India's democratic foundations. "There is a real danger to the Constitution under this government," Kharge warned, also drawing parallels to the political chaos in Bangladesh under Sheikh Hasina's leadership. "Our brave leader Indira Gandhi divided Pakistan into two parts and liberated Bangladesh... At least these people should open their eyes and try to save the minorities there," Kharge stated, in an apparent rebuke of the BJP's foreign policy approach.
The exchange between Sitharaman and Kharge underscored the deepening ideological divide between the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress, with both parties accusing each other of compromising the constitutional framework for political gain. The debate over India's Constitution is set to continue as the country celebrates 75 years of constitutional democracy, with both sides seeking to shape the narrative of its legacy and future.