Constitution's principles under threat, says Sonia Gandhi as Sumitra Mahajan bats for harmony in the country

On the first day of the Winter Session in Parliament, which was also the country’s first ever Constitution Day, Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan spoke about the importance of the Constitution. While Mahajan said India has a liberal polity that ensures the trinity of ’liberty, equality and justice’ as central to the scheme of governance in democracy, Sonia Gandhi targeted the NDA government on the issue of intolerance and alleged that ideals and principles of the Constitution are under threat. “It is undeniable that our Constitution upholds secularism,” said Gandhi, but added, “We have to remember that Ambedkar had said that the Constitution is only as good as people implementing it,” as other members of the Parliament protested loudly. [caption id=“attachment_2522382” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Sumitra Mahajan (left) with Sonia Gandhi. PTI[/caption] In reference to communally charged incidents such as the Dadri lynching, Gandhi told the Lok Sabha that whatever is being witnessed in the past few months is totally against the principles of the Constitution. “People who never had faith in the Constitution, nor had they participated in its drafting, are now swearing by it,” said Gandhi as she threw a barb at the government. On her part, Mahajan, during her opening address at the Special Sitting to discuss ‘commitment to India’s Constitution’ to commemorate the 125th birth anniversary of Bhimrao Ambedkar, said, “Individual rights and freedoms are as sacrosanct as the common good,” she said. “Criticism and dissent, especially through the media and intellectual discourse, are vibrant and are part and parcel of our democracy.” The Constitution, she said, guarantees each person the freedom of faith, religion and worship. Mahajan said “consensus building” was a very crucial element in democratic governance that required elected representatives of the people to engage with each other and work together to address the issues and find solutions to all problems. “The Directive Principles of State Policy in our Constitution seek to secure and protect a just social order,” she said. “Our parliamentary democracy has been able to ensure peaceful co-existence and progress of all communities, irrespective of castes, creeds, religions and languages.” For a country that is home to adherents of almost all the major religions of the world, “it is both an imperative and a societal culture to respect each other’s religions and to promote harmony among all of them,” the Speaker said. Mahajan said the Constitution provides for strong institutions as the fundamental pillars of democracy. The three organs of the State – the Legislature, the Executive and the Judiciary – are required to work in harmony. “Our Constitution has been a dynamic and living document responsive to the changing needs of our people,” she said. Observing that it was no time to rest on laurels, Mahajan said, “there are innumerable development challenges before us. As we have steadfastly developed strong institutional and governance structures over the years, it is time to work even harder to achieve our objectives in some of the most important areas of concern like education and literacy, health and nutrition, infrastructural development, farmers’ welfare and women’s security.” With inputs from PTI