Highlighting that ‘India’s Constitution has stood the test of time’, the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Monday slammed the Congress for brazenly amending the Constitution from time to time to help the family and dynasty.

Opening the discussion on the glorious journey of 75 years of the Constitution of India in the Rajya Sabha, she said, ”..The Congress party brazenly kept amending the Constitution to help the family and dynasty… These amendments were not to strengthen democracy but to protect those in power, the process was used to strengthen the family.” The Finance Minister said Congress’ record in curtailing freedom of speech was unmatched.

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Referring to the arrests of poet and lyricist Majrooh Sultanpuri and actor Balraj Sahni to slam former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru over freedom of speech, she said,” …Majrooh Sultanpuri and Balraj Sahni were both jailed in 1949. During one of the meetings organised for the mill workers in 1949, Majrooh Sultanpuri recited a poem that was written against Jawaharlal Nehru and therefore he had to go to jail. He refused to tender an apology for the same and was jailed…Congress’s record of curtailing freedom of speech didn’t confine it to these two people.”

The minister went on to say, “Nehru”, a political biography which was written by Michael Edwards in 1975, was banned. They also banned a film called “Kissa Kursi Ka” just because it questioned Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and her son…”

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.

Sitharaman also said she will have to demand a return apology from Congress member Jairam Ramesh for accusing her of lying, which she never does. ”But accusing me of lying is now clearly in the blood of the Congress,” she pointed out, adding that ”When I was the Defence Minister, not only did they call Prime Minister Modi a thief, they also kept on accusing me of lying. Now I will have no objection if another member goes to court and apologises. ”

The minister said all the members present in the House, including Congress’, voted for the GST Constitution Amendment, which was brought by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. ” Jairam Ramesh wanted to move some amendments but Dr Manmohan Singh (former PM) personally asked him not to do so because of the fine consensus that has been arrived in the GST Council…Despite the support given by the Congress in passing the GST Constitution Amendment, you have a Congress leader who calls GST the ‘Gabbar Singh Tax’…,” she said in an apparent shot at Congress leader in the Lower House.

The minister said the Mandal commission was created to give reservation for backward classes but Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi also opposed giving 27 per cent reservation to the OBC.

She highlighted that the law passed by the BJP first was reservation for women, adding that Congress denied Muslim women their rights. Citing the Shah Bano case, the Union Finance Minister said “the Congress Party passed the Muslim Women Protection of Rights on Divorce Act 1986 which denied Muslim women their right to alimony.”

Sitharaman went on to allege that the Congress is ”anti-women” as they did not pass women reservation bill to save its then government. ”Rajiv Gandhi had more than 400 Lok Sabha members and also a majority in RS from 1984-89 but did not pass the Women Reservation Bill,” she stressed.

The senior BJP member also slammed Congress allies including RJD chief Lalu Prasad. Taking a veiled jibe at former Bihar Chief Minister, Sitharaman said, “I know of political leaders who have chosen to have the children named after MISA to remember those black days and now they wouldn’t even mind having an alliance with them…” The Finance Minister was hinting at Misa Bharti, Lalu Prasad’s daughter. Lalu had named his daughter after the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA), a law used during the Emergency period to detain political dissenters.

She said the country’s Constitution has stood the test of time. “…Post Second World War, over 50 countries had become independent and had their Constitution written. But many have changed their Constitutions, not just amended them but literally changed the entire feature of their Constitution. But our Constitution has stood the test of time, of course, yielded itself to very many amendments..,” she pointed out.

She read out a few names including prominent figures like Sarojini Naidu, Sucheta Kripalani, and Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit who contributed to the Constitution making.