BJP, Congress accuse each other of dishonouring Constitution's spirit

Rajnath says Congress always chose power over Constitution, draws counter from Priyanka

- ARCHIS MOHAN & PTI

The opening day of the two-day debate in the Lok Sabha held to mark 75 years of India's Constitution saw leaders from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress accusing each other of dishonouring the spirit of the document.

Initiating the "Discussion on the Glorious Journey of 75 Years of the Constitution of India", Union Minister of Defence Rajnath Singh said the Congress had always prioritised satta (power) over upholding the tenets of the Constitution. He claimed that allowing institutional autonomy had always been anathema to the Congress.

"These days, I see that many Opposition leaders keep the Constitution in their pockets. Actually, this is what they have learnt from childhood, they have seen their families keep the Constitution in their pockets for generations," the minister said. He accused the Congress of "hijacking and appropriating" the framing of the Constitution, refusing to acknowledge the contributions of several framers of the document, imposing the Emergency, dismissing state governments, and superseding Supreme Court judges for "standing up" to the then Indira Gandhi government.