The Rajya Sabha on Monday took up a two-day debate on the Constitution with the government fielding Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to blame the Congress for amending the Constitution from time to time for the sake of a ‘family.’

Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge charged the Modi government with failing to deliver on its promises and misleading the nation over the last 11 years.

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Opening the discussion on the glorious journey of 75 years of the Constitution of India, Sitharaman said the party brazenly kept amending the Constitution to help the dynasty.
“Amendments were not about strengthening democracy but protecting those in power,” Sitharaman said in an attack on the Congress .

The Finance Minister said Congress’ record in curtailing freedom of speech was unmatched.

There was ruckus in the Rajya Sabha when the minister challenged-The 39th Amendment 1975-which was added during Indira Gandhi’s regime.

She pointed out the Constitutional amendments were brought in to nullify a judgement that arose between Indira Gandhi vs Raj Narain wherein the order of the Allahabad High Court setting aside the election of Indira Gandhi was challenged.

”To save her ‘Kursi’ Indira Gandhi brought the 39th Amendment 1975 bill”, she said.

“During the pendency of this case in the Supreme Court, the Congress enacted the 39th Constitutional Amendment Act in 1975 which added Article 392 (A) to the Constitution which says that elections to the President, Vice President, Prime Minister and Lok Sabha Speaker cannot be challenged in any court in the country and it can be done only before a parliamentary committee. Imagine that for a person to save her chair, an amendment was made even before the court judgement,” she thundered.

Emphasising that all must adhere to the Constitution and its Preamble, LoP Kharge said merely pointing fingers at each other won’t help. He slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remarks on the Constitution (in the Lok Sabha), and alleged that those who haven’t fought for the country can’t grasp its significance.

Taking a jibe at Finance Minister Sitharaman, Kharge said, “She has studied in Jawaharlal Nehru University(JNU), I don’t know what she studied there but JNU students are very progressive…And, here she’s supporting those who question socialism and all..How can someone change their ideology?”

Highlighting her educational background at JNU, Kharge noted that students from varsity have been integral to the nation’s development, particularly in fields like Economics and Political Science but here “the talk is about eliminating the democratic things.”

”BJP has been giving ‘jumlas’ to befool people of the country and blaming the Congress instead”, Kharge alleged. Further, he said the Prime Minister either lives in the past or in the world of imagination, adding that ”it seems that the present is not in his dictionary.”

Speaking during the two-day debate, Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri slammed the earlier Congress governments during his speech.

He claimed that Dr BR Ambedkar opposed Article 370, advising Sheikh Abdullah to not isolate Kashmir from India.

“What should have been a temporary arrangement gained a permanent nature because the Congress did not have the courage to act. Congress did not have courage to act on Art 370,” he said.

He accused the Congress of encouraging stone pelters and lamented how India’s reputation was damaged in the global stage due to the Kashmir issue.