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| Constitution Day: Dynastic parties are matter of concern to people committed to Constitution, says PM Modi | | |
Agencies
New Delhi, Nov 26: Tearing into the Opposition parties that boycotted the Constitution Day celebrations in Parliament, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Friday said “family-run parties” that have lost democratic qualities themselves cannot be expected to defend the country’s democracy.
Speaking at the event, Modi asserted that the country is “not ready” to listen to those who “question” the need to earmark a day to celebrate the adoption of the Constitution which has the name of Babasaheb Ambedkar attached to it.
“When a political party loses its own democratic character, how can it protect democracy? Today, from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, look at every corner of India, the country is moving towards a crisis that should worry every individual who respects the Constitution and that comes from dynastic parties. Political parties – party for the family, party by the family, and I need not elaborate. This is against the principles of the Constitution, quite opposite to what the Constitution tells us,” the PM said.
Many Opposition parties including the Congress, Trinamool Congress, RJD, DMK, the left parties and the AAP skipped the event, which was presided over by President Ram Nath Kovind. Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu, Speaker OM Birla were also present on the occasion.
“This event was not that of any government, or of any political party, or of any Prime Minister. The Speaker is the pride of the House. It is a dignified post. It is a matter of Babasaheb Ambedkar’s dignity, the dignity of the Constitution,” Modi said.
Modi qualified his remarks by saying that he was not against more than one individual from a family in politics. He also appealed to people to raise awareness against dynastic politics, terming it as the “biggest threat” to the functioning of a healthy democracy.
“On merit and blessings of the people, more than one person from a family can enter politics, this does not make a party dynastic. But a party run by one family, generation after generation, the family controlling every aspect of the party, is the biggest threat to a healthy democracy.”
“Today on Constitution day, I would like to appeal to every citizen who has trust in the Constitution, that there is a need for awareness in the country. There was an experiment in Japan. It was seen in Japan that a handful of political families are dominating the system. Someone had taken it upon him to prepare the citizens, to bring people from outside the political families into the system. It was a success, it took 30-40 years but had to be done,” the Modi said.
November 26 has been annually celebrated as Constitution Day since 2015. On November 26, 1949, the Constituent Assembly had adopted the Constitution of India, which came into effect from January 26, 1950.
In his speech, the PM claimed that even the idea to dedicate a day in the name of the Constitution, “which should have started after the Independence but some people faltered”, had faced resistance.
“I remember when I was addressing the House in 2015 on BR Ambedkar’s 125th anniversary, and making this announcement, even then there was resistance. Where did you bring November 26 from? Why are you doing this, what was the need? This country is not ready to listen to such things where Ambedkar’s name is attached. And even now, to not commemorate this occasion it is a matter of concern,” the Prime Minister said.
The PM further said that under the prevailing circumstances, when political differences often relegate “national interest to the backseat”, drafting even one page of the Constitution appears difficult.
“Imagine what would have happened had we been entrusted with the task of writing the Constitution today. Despite the long shadows of the independence movment, wave of patritosm and the horrors of partition, national interest was supreme and was the mantra in every mind then. In today’s context I do not know if we could have written even one page of the Constitution because over time, politics has had so much impact that even national interest also takes a backseat at times,” Modi said. |
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