NEW DELHI, Nov 26 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday urged citizens to fulfil their Constitutional duties and said freedom is not only about rights, but duties and unity too, as leaders across the political spectrum underscored the need to follow the Constitution in letter and spirit.
In a letter to citizens on the occasion of Constitution Day, the prime minister also struck a personal note, saying it was the power of the Constitution that enabled a person like him, coming from a humble and economically disadvantaged family, to serve as the head of the government continuously for over 24 years. Modi was chief minister of Gujarat before becoming prime minister in 2014.
The Constitution Day or Samvidhan Divas commemorates the official adoption of the Indian Constitution on November 26, 1949. The government of India declared November 26 as Constitution Day in 2015.
Multiple events were held across the country including at the Central Hall of the Old Parliament building and Supreme Court.
As the Constitution Day sparked a political slugfest between the BJP and the Congress, President Droupadi Murmu said the Constitution is the cornerstone of the nation’s identity as also the guiding document to shun colonial mindset and adopt nationalistic thinking. She made these remarks at the Central hall event.
In his letter, Modi recalled Mahatma Gandhi’s belief that rights flow from the performance of duties, stressing that fulfilling duties is the foundation for social and economic progress.
“Our country has given us so much and this brings out a deep sense of gratitude from within. And, when we live with this feeling, fulfilling our duties becomes integral to our nature. To carry out our duties, it becomes imperative to put in our full capability and dedication in every task,” he said.
“When we work with this sense of duty, our nation’s social and economic progress will multiply manifold.”
In his message read out during the flag-off ceremony of ‘Unity March’ in Karamsad town of Gujarat’s Anand district, Modi said Constitution Day reminds the countrymen that freedom is not only about rights, but also about duties and a call for unity.
From the judiciary side, Chief Justice of India Surya Kant highlighted the importance of the constitutional promise of access to justice.
“Without such access, liberties become ornamental and constitutional guarantees lose their resonance in the lives of ordinary people,” said Justice Kant, who took oath as the new CJI on Monday.
Justice Kant told the audience at the Supreme Court event that if access to justice is our moral and constitutional north star, then predictability, affordability and timeliness form its core supports.
“Despite that, when we look closely at the functioning of our justice delivery system, there is still a disquieting gap between the constitutional vision and the experiences of many, particularly those on the margins for whom the ideals of access to justice remains elusive due to exorbitant cost, language, distance and delay.”
The CJI said these barriers weaken the very overarching goal we seek to protect and in doing so, magnify existing inequalities.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said India will become a developed country by 2047 if the Constitution is followed in letter and spirit.
At another function organized by the Supreme Court, President Murmu said the Constitution is a national text and “it is our national duty” to conduct institutions, personal lives in accordance with the values ??enshrined in the document.
The Congress and other opposition parties accused the RSS-BJP of attacking and undermining the Constitution, claiming that the Centre is taking forward this agenda by “subverting constitutional principles” and “bulldozing” federalism.
Stressing that the Constitution is the protective shield of the poor, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi urged people to pledge that “we will not allow any attack” on the guiding document and said he will be the first to stand up against any assault on it.
In a post on X, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge underlined the need to protect the fundamental principles of the Constitution such as justice, equality, freedom, mutual brotherhood, secularism, and socialism, adding these hallmarks of India are in danger today under the BJP rule.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh took to X to take a swipe at Modi over his call to citizens to fulfil their Constitutional duties, saying the prime minister’s commitment to at least four such duties is “demonstrably suspect”, including that of abiding by the Constitution and respecting its ideals and institutions.
The BJP hit back at Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, asking them to “look within” and recall how their party “tore constitutional norms” after independence, before saying anything about the Modi government.
BJP MP and chief spokesperson Amnil Baluni reminded Kharge about the imposition of Emergency by the Indira Gandhi government in 1975.
Chief ministers of states ruled by Opposition parties vowed to uphold true federalism and protect the rights of every state.
In a post on X, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said when democracy is at stake, secularism is in an “endangered situation” and federalism is “being bulldozed” and therefore people must protect the valuable guidance that the Constitution provides.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin said everything will be done to uphold true federalism as enshrined in the Constitution and protect the rights of every State. (PTI)
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