In the backdrop of a raging controversy on so-called ‘intolerance’, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday asserted that ‘India First’ was ‘the only religion’ of his Government and the Constitution ‘the only holy book’, made immortal by BR Ambedkar, its architect.
Paying glowing tributes to Ambedkar, Modi said as a son of a Dalit “Baba Saheb” suffered humiliation and neglect, but that never reflected in the Constitution which he transformed into “a social document” and not a legal one. He said nothing which man produces turns ‘immortal’ but the Constitution was one such example because of Ambedkar.
“Unhone saara vish pee liya aur amrit hamare liye chod diya” (he drank poison and left elixir for us), the Prime Minister said while replying to a two-day debate on the Constitution in the lok Sabha.
Affirming the supremacy of the Constitution Modi quoted first President of India Rajendra Prasad saying that the Constitution was “the best among all Kings”.
“For the Government, the only ‘dharma’ is ‘India First, the only ‘dharma granth’ (holy book) is the Constitution,” Modi declared in his almost 70-minute-long response to the debate during which Opposition members raked up the issue of ‘intolerance’ and questioned his silence on the matter.
“The country will run by the Constitution and it should be run only by the Constitution. India has fundamentally grown on this ideology. The country has the internal energy amassed over thousands of years which gives it the stimulus and capacity to deal with crises,” Modi said.
Invoking Mahatma Gandhi, BR Ambedkar and Nehru repeatedly, he underlined that the ‘Idea of India’ is reflected by the aspects like ‘Ahinsa Parmo Dharma (non-violence is supreme duty), ‘Sarv Dharma Sambhav’ (equal respect to all religions) and ‘Vasudev Kutumbakam’ (entire world is a family).
“Our country has been there for thousands of years. Shortcomings do come. Even vices do crop up. But there is something that keeps us going. Even when vices come up, solutions also emerge from within the society....It is like an auto pilot corrective arrangement and this is our strength,” the Prime Minister.
The lok Sabha later in a resolution affirmed its commitment to the principles and ideals of the Constitution and resolved to uphold its sanctity and supremacy. The resolution moved by Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, the House also said that it respected the Constitutional institutions their freedom and authority.
The House vowed to protect the sovereignty, unity and integrity of the country and the democratic, socialist and secular character. Besides, it pledged to maintain transparency, probity and accountability in public life and members dedicated themselves to equality and social justice and contribute to the task of building a strong republic. (Opposition claimed that the draft of the resolution which was circulated among various political parties did not have “socialist” and ‘secular” words, which was objected to by some parties including the Trinamool Congress and the Congress.)
In a conciliatory speech which had a tone of carrying all together, Modi spoke about “the importance of building consensus in a democracy” saying the logic of majority and minority should be “the last option”.
The Prime Minister rejected the Congress contention that the NDA Government was trying to deny due credit or undermining the role of leaders like Jawahar lal Nehru, to whom he paid rich tributes.
As Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul listened keenly, Modi also showered praise on Nehru, saying he was a great personality, and rejected the perception that the NDA Government was trying to deny credit to him.
“Today’s topic of discussion is not about ‘I’ and ‘you’ but it is about ‘We’....I have said from the Red Fort (in Independence Day address) and I am repeating that all previous Governments and former Prime Ministers have made efforts and have contributed in making the country great,” he said.
“Hard work of many leaders has gone into shaping India. States also have played a role...There may be complaints that some Government has done less but nobody can say that previous Governments have done nothing,” the Prime Minister said.
Answering questions raised by Congress over holding of the discussion now instead of January 26 when the Indian Republic came into being, Modi said, “26 November is a historical occasion and our intention is not to downplay the importance of January 26. We celebrate January 26 because of November 26.”
He said diversity is the strength of India and it needs to be nurtured.
“There are people who believe in the God and those who do not believe in the God. There are people who do idol worship.. All have different views. They have aspirations and expectations which have to be accommodated,” Modi said, noting that Ambedkar had taken these aspects into consideration while framing the Constitution.
Allaying apprehensions in some sections, the Prime Minister asserted that there will be no review of the Constitution as its framers, like Ambedkar, have done an extraordinary and visionary task.
The bonhomie between the Opposition and the Treasury Benches was in the air as Prime Minister even quoted Sonia saying in her speech that Constitution would fail only if those implementing it were at fault.