BJP, Congress Engage in War of Words During Constitution Debate | LIVE

Praising Priyanka Gandhi's speech in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi said, "Wonderful speech. Better than my maiden speech, let's put it like that.”

The Lok Sabha on Friday paid rich tributes to the security personnel who laid down their lives in foiling a terror attack on Parliament on December 13, 2001.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla solemnly reiterated the commitment of the Lower House to fight terrorism and pledged to protect the unity, integrity and sovereignty of the nation.

"This House and the entire nation solemnly remembers unfortunate incident of December 13, 2001, when some terrorists attacked India's Parliament, the greatest symbol of our democracy," Birla said as soon as the House convened at 11:00 am.

"Our alert security personnel deployed to ensure security of the Parliament premises displayed extraordinary courage and foiled this attack," he said.

Rajya Sabha LoP Mallikarjun Kharge praised Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on her maiden address in Lok Sabha saying, "Excellent speech. Very good. She put all the facts before the Government - how the Constitution is being misused and they are not protecting women & people of this country...We are very happy about her performance."

Speaking on the caste census, SP MP Akhilesh said, "...Minister said - have a caste census if you want...Whenever we will get a chance, we will conduct a Caste Census...Caste Census will never create differences in castes. Caste Census will bridge the gap between castes and people of society who did not get justice, rights - they will get rights and respect after Caste Census. So, we support this."

Speaking in Lok Sabha during a discussion on the 75th anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution of India, SP MP Akhilesh Yadav said, "This Constitution is our armour, our security, it provides us strength from time to time. The Constitution is the true guardian of the rights of the oppressed, neglected, suppressed and deprived. This Constitution is a great help. For people like us and the weak in the country, especially for PDA, saving the Constitution is a matter of life and death."

Speaking in the Lok Sabha, Priyanka said, "Today, people of the country are demanding that there be a Caste Census. Colleague of the ruling side mentioned this, the mention is also being made only because of these results in the Lok Sabha elections. The Caste Census is essential so that we know the condition of everyone and policies can be made accordingly..."

Opening debate for the opposition in the Lok Sabha, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said, "...Our Constitution is 'suraksha kavach' (safety armour). Such a 'suraksha kavach' that keeps the citizens safe - it is a 'kavach' of justice, of unity, of Right to Express. It is sad that in 10 years, colleagues of the ruling side who make tall claims have made all attempts to break down this 'kavach'. Constitution promises social, economic and political justice. These promises are a safety armour and work to break this has begun. Through lateral entry and privatisation, this government is trying to weaken reservation."
 

Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra her maiden speech in the Lok Sabha during the discussion on the 75th anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution of India.

Today, many opposition leaders roam around with a copy of the Constitution in their pockets. Actually, they have learnt this since childhood. They have seen the Constitution being kept in their pockets for generations in their families. But the BJP touches the Constitution with its forehead. Our commitment towards the Constitution is completely clear, " said Defence Minister Rajnath Singh during a discussion on the 75th anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution of India

Rajnath said, "Many postcolonial democracies and their Constitutions did not last long. But the Indian Constitution, despite all the challenges, continues to play an important role in maintaining the world's largest democracy without losing its basic spirit. We all accept the role of the Supreme Court as the custodian and interpreter of the Constitution. Today there is talk of protecting the Constitution. This is the duty of all of us. But we also need to understand who has respected the Constitution and who has disrespected it..."

Hailing the ruling government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Rajnath Singh said, "Today I want to make it clear, that our Constitution is not the gift of a single party. The Constitution of India was made by the people of India, in accordance with the values ​​of India...Our government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is working with the spirit of Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas and Sabka Prayas, our government is working in accordance with the Dharma written in the Constitution of India. Our Constitution is progressive, inclusive, transformative... This is our country where a person born in a poor family can also become the Prime Minister of the country and he can also become the President of the country..."

Launching a scathing attack at Congress, Rajnath Singh said, “One particular party has always tried to appropriate, hijack the process of making of Constitution.”

Speaking further he said, "Thoughts of leaders such as Madan Mohan Malviya, Lala Lajpat Rai, Bhagat Singh, Veer Savarkar have strengthened Constitution."

Addressing the Lok Sabha, Rajnath Singh said, "The truth is that our Constitution is the expression of our civilisational values."

Initiating the debate on the Constitution in the Lok Sabha, Rajnathb Singh said, "...We the people of India adopted the Constitution on 26 November 1949...I heartily congratulate this House and all the citizens of the country on the occasion of completion of 75 years of adoption of the Constitution... I can say that our Constitution paves the way for nation building by touching all aspects of social, economic, political and cultural life..."

Defence Rajnath Singh initiated the debate on the Constitution kin the Lok Sabha today, marking the 785th anniversary of its adoption. 

Talking to ANI, Congress MP Gurjeet Singh Aujla on the debate on the Constitution in the Lok Sabha today said, "There will be a discussion on the Constitution of India and Congress always raises its voice to protect the rights of the people...The government is moving towards dictatorship and Rahul Gandhi, the leader of opposition in Lok Sabha and the Bharat Coalition will stop the government from doing so. We will ensure that the government protects democracy..."
 

The BJP issues 'three line whip' to all its MPs of Rajya Sabha to be present in the house on the 16th and 17th December 2024.

Speaking to the media, JDU MP Sanjay Kumar Jha said, "We are celebrating 75 years of independence and there should be a debate on the constitution... It should also come to light what steps were taken to strengthen the constitution in all these years and what tampering was done with the constitution. This debate should be allowed to happen transparently..."

As per sources, Congress has been allotted two hours time for the debate. 

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on 'One Nation, One Election' said that the Opposition will respond after examining the bill.

"We will see what the bill entails, how they plan to implement ‘One Nation, One Election,’ and its specifics. Only after reviewing it thoroughly will we provide our response," he said.

Constitution Day serves as a tribute to the vision of the Constituent Assembly, which comprised leaders and thinkers from diverse backgrounds. It underscores the transformative journey of India from a colonized nation to a sovereign republic.

On the 23 years of the Parliament attack, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other leaders paid tribute to the fallen jawans at the Parliament.

Speaking on the debate in the Constitution in the Lok Sabha today,  Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said, "We have put this condition that there should be a discussion on the Constitution. Many unconstitutional things are going on, many autonomous bodies are being misused, the governance in the country is not good, so we want a debate so that everyone can know how the governance is going on..."

The newly elected Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is likely to make her maiden speech in the Lok Sabha during a special Constitution debate.

Ahead of the Constitution debate in the Lok Sabha today, Republic accessed the list of speakers, take a look at it:

The debate on the Constitution has been the key demand of the opposition for the Winter Session of Parliament. According to the agreement with the Opposition, the BJP-led NDA government had agreed to a debate on the Constitution on December 13-14 in the Lok Sabha and on December 16-17 in the Rajya Sabha.

On November 26, 1949, the Indian Constituent Assembly formally adopted the Constitution, which came into effect on January 26, 1950, establishing India as a sovereign, democratic republic. In 2015, the Government of India formally declared November 26 as Constitution Day (Samvidhan Divas) to honour the adoption of the Indian Constitution in 1949. Since then, the nation celebrates the Constitution's adoption each year on this day. 

All eyes are on this special debate which will be a face-off between the BJP-led NDA government and the Opposition, INDI Alliance.

There has been no clear specification regarding the topics of the historic Constitution debate as of now, but discussions are likely on the Sonia Gandhi-George Soros Link. Sources said leaders of BJP and its allies are likely to refer to Emergency and speak about the "fake narratives being peddled" by the opposition. The Opposition is likely to bring up the Adani issue and One Nation One Election in the debate.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to reply to the two-day debate on the Constitution in the Lok Sabha on Saturday, sources said.

Union Defence Minister and BJP's most experienced leader Rajnath Singh is likely to initiate the Lok Sabha debate. However, Congress might field Priyanka Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi as speakers during the debate in the Lok Sabha.

Furthermore, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to deliver replies to the debate addressing the Lok Sabha on Saturday (December 14).