Asserting that the main job of Parliament is to make laws, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday cited Constituent Assembly member Gopalaswami Ayyangar’s statement in the Assembly that the will of the Lok Sabha should prevail in financial matters when a conflict arose between the two Houses.
Mr. Modi said this just before the Rajya Sabha recalled the founding fathers of the Republic, ranging from Dr. B.R. Ambedkar to Jawaharlal Nehru, and resolved to protect the unity, plurality and the secular character of the constitution.
The Prime Minister capped the three-day debate on Ambedkar and the Constitution at a time when the government is trying to pass the Goods and Services Tax Bill – a key reform initiative that requires a constitutional amendment – in the Winter Session. A joint sitting cannot be called to amend the Constitution – something that requires a special majority of both the Houses. His government does not enjoy a majority in the Rajya Sabha. He recalled that Nehru had linked Parliament’s success to the coordination between the two Houses and quoted Ambedkar’s statement that it is easier to give power than to give wisdom.
The Winter Session coincides with protests from intellectuals and the Opposition over “rising intolerance” outside Parliament.
Exhorting the House to rise above petty differences, Mr. Modi said it was necessary to remember the Constitution and pass its message to future generations.
“The nation doesn’t work this way that I remember only members of my own party. Many Congressmen were there [in the Constituent Assembly]. But it is part of our values that we respect them,” Mr. Modi said, pitching for finding common ground amid differences. “One should be neutral sometimes and stand above the fray.”
“In India, our one place for guidance is the Constitution. Our path forward is the Constitution. We should acquaint future generations with it,” Mr. Modi said.
Pitching for regional unity, he reiterated that he was thinking of a scheme through which States would acquaint their schoolchildren with the culture and language of another State. He said that the Constitution was also a social document that tells us a “Dalit mother’s son is also our brother.” “Equality and motherly affection is what will make the nation work,” he said. “We will find many reasons to get divided but we should look for opportunities to unite amid these.” While he did not directly refer to the question of minority rights, Mr. Modi said: “No one can doubt 125-crore Indians’ nationalism. None has to give proof of that.”
