Narendra Modi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today delivered a strong speech in the Lok Sabha, ruffling the feathers of the opposition. The Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, had stated that the country would be governed according to the Constitution and that they would not allow the dream of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh to come true. Prime Minister Narendra Modi responded to this criticism in his own style, asserting, “We are people who live by the Constitution.”
What did Narendra Modi say?
“During elections, some parties make promises, claiming they will do this or that, but they fail to fulfill them. That is not our policy. We fulfill what we promise. To strengthen the Constitution, we work to uphold and live by it. I would like to give some examples of this. We are people who live by the Constitution.”
When I was the Chief Minister of Gujarat…
“It is a tradition that when the President delivers a speech, he highlights what has happened in the country and reflects the spirit of the Constitution and democracy. When Gujarat completed 50 years, I was the Chief Minister at the time. We decided to compile a book of all the speeches delivered by the Governors in the House over the past 50 years. That book is still available in many libraries. Even though I am from the BJP, we documented all the speeches because we understand and uphold the spirit of the Constitution.”
There was no opposition party when I came to power in 2014: Modi
“When we came to power in 2014, there was no official opposition party in the Lok Sabha. At that time, some Indian laws stated that certain committees should include the Leader of the Opposition. However, we are people who respect the Constitution. Therefore, even though there was no officially recognized Leader of the Opposition, we invited the leader of the largest opposition party to all meetings. This is what we call the spirit of democracy. The opposition party also has representation in the Election Commission committee. We have introduced a law to ensure this. We have made it clear that when the Election Commission is established, the opposition party will be included in the selection committee. We are people who live by the Constitution.”
We built the Statue of Unity because we know how to live by the Constitution: Modi
“In Delhi, many political families have built museums using public funds. We, on the other hand, have built the Prime Minister’s Museum, which includes every Prime Minister of India, from Jawaharlal Nehru to Manmohan Singh. I want the families of these great leaders to visit the museum and provide feedback to the government if they find any shortcomings. While some people work for their own benefit, we work in service of the Constitution. When power is seen as service, it leads to nation-building. However, when power is seen as a privilege, democracy weakens. We uphold the spirit of the Constitution and refuse to engage in divisive politics. National unity is our priority, which is why we built the world’s tallest statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. Sardar Patel was not a member of the Jan Sangh or the BJP, yet we honored him with this statue because we respect the Constitution.”
To those who carry the Constitution in their pockets…
“Some people openly use the language of urban Naxalism. How will they ever understand the Constitution or the unity of the nation? For seven decades, the people of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh were deprived of the constitutional rights enjoyed by the rest of the country. Wasn’t this an injustice? We demolished the wall of Article 370. Now, these regions enjoy the same rights as all other Indian states. We understand the importance of the Constitution, which is why we have made such bold decisions. Our Constitution does not allow discrimination. Those who claim to carry the Constitution in their pockets fail to recognize the suffering of Muslim women. We abolished triple talaq and granted Muslim women equal rights, as guaranteed by the Constitution,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated.
