Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman during the Rajya Sabha Constitution Debate, attacked the Congress, claiming that revisions were not meant to strengthen democracy but rather to protect the powerful. “Congress brazenly kept amending the Constitution to help family and dynasty,” she stated. As she began the discussion on the Constitution’s 75th anniversary in the Rajya Sabha, the FM went on to say that India’s Constitution has endured.
Sitaram stated that Majrooh Sultanpuri delivered a poem written against Jawaharlal Nehru during one of the 1949 mill workers’ assemblies, he was forced to stay in jail. He was imprisoned because he refused to apologize for the same.These two individuals were not the only ones affected by Congress’s history of restricting free speech. A 1975 political biography by Michael Edwards titled “Nehru” was outlawed. Additionally, they outlawed the movie “Kissa Kursi Ka” for raising issues with Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and her son.
The Supreme Court had ruled in favor of the Communist magazine “CrossRoads” and the RSS organizational magazine “Organizer” in 1950, FM Sitharaman continued. In response, the (then) interim government believed that a first constitutional amendment was necessary, which was introduced by the INC and was essentially intended to restrict freedom.
According to Sitharaman, more than 50 nations gained independence and drafted constitutions following World War II, but many of them have since altered their documents not just by making changes, but by completely altering their content. Although our Constitution has withstood the test of time, it has undoubtedly been subject to several revisions.
“As we mark the 75th year of our Constitution, it is time, I would think, to reaffirm our commitment to build India that is ‘Bharat’ that shall uphold the spirit enshrined in this sacred document,” she stated.
