Congress considered Constitution private fiefdom of one family, says Amit Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah compares BJP and Congress Constitutional amendments, accusing Congress of altering provisions for political gain.

Comparing and contrasting the Constitutional amendments brought by the governments led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and with that steered by Congress governments, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that the Congress altered fundamental Constitutional provisions for political gain, while the BJP focused on empowering citizens.

Calling the Congress “anti-reservation”, the Home Minister said that the only reason the Congress wants an increase in the 50% ceiling is to provide reservation on religious lines. 

The Minister accused the Congress for “finding faults” in EVMs after losing elections. Mr. Shah chided the Leader of House in Lok Sabha and senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his remarks on V. D. Savarkar. 

Mr. Shah was replying to the 31-hour-long debate on “glorious journey of 75 years of the Constitution of India” in which 80 members participated in the Upper House. 

Accusing the Opposition of peddling a wrong narrative targeting electoral gain during the 2024 Lok Sabha election, Mr. Shah said, “The 54-year-old leader who calls himself ‘yuva’ keeps roaming around with the Constitution claiming that we would change the Constitution. I want to tell that the provision to amend the Constitution is with the Constitution.” 

The Constitution is not an immutable document and Article 368 enables bringing in amendments. “BJP has ruled for 16 years, and we made 22 amendments to the Constitution. Congress ruled for 55 years and made 77 changes,” Mr. Shah said. He listed out four amendments brought by governments led by each of the two parties. 

“The First Amendment was made on June 18, 1951. After the formation of the Constitution, Congress did not have enough patience even to wait for the Lok Sabha elections. Article 19A was added to curtail the freedom of speech and Jawaharlal Nehru was the Prime Minister at that time,” Mr. Shah said. Next, he listed the 24th Amendment by the Indira Gandhi government. This Mr. Shah pointed out was to restrict the fundamental rights of the citizens.