Day 2 of Constitution debate: No to religion-based quota, call to end dynastic politics among PM’s 11 pledges

Replying to the debate on the Constitution in Lok Sabha, PM Modi proposed the 11 resolutions, including a call to end dynastic politics, promoting meritocracy over nepotism in governance, and a pledge for having zero tolerance to corruption. Modi had often targeted the Congress and many of regional parties in the context of dynastic politics. In his address before announcing the pledges, he said that the “Congress is controlled by the Nehru-Gandhi family”.

The first resolution that Modi proposed urges every citizen to perform their duties. “Be it individuals or the government, everyone must adhere to their duties,” he said. The second called for inclusive development across all regions and communities, in line with ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’.

The third was for zero tolerance towards corruption. “There should be no social acceptance of those involved in corruption,” he said. While corruption charges against the UPA government was one of the major planks that propelled the BJP to power in 2014, the Congress had over the last few years been relentlessly attacking the PM, accusing his government of patronage to industrialist Gautam Adani.

The other resolutions announced by the PM focused on instilling pride among citizens for the country’s laws and regulations and traditions, breaking free from colonial (ghulami) mindset and fostering pride in India’s heritage and stresses on the importance of respecting the Constitution. He urged everyone to ensure that the document is not misused as a tool for political gains.

In his eighth resolution, Modi said that those getting reservation should not be deprived of the benefits and asked everyone to oppose any attempt to introduce reservation on the basis of religion. In his address, he had come down heavily on the Congress alleging that the party had always opposed reservation and was now playing a game to bring in reservation on the basis of religion.

The other resolutions were envisioning India as a global example in women-led development, and stressing on the mantra of national development through regional growth. In Modi’s words, the mantra of development should be “development of nation by development of state” and making the goal of ‘Ek Bharat, Shrestha Bharat’ supreme. The PM called for collective efforts to fulfill these resolutions, aligning with the Constitution’s foundational ethos of “We the People”.

‘Double maths period’: Cong on PM speech; SP calls resolutions jumlas

While the Congress termed PM Narendra Modi’s speech during the Constitution debate in LS “boring”, other Opposition parties criticized his speech, with SP chief Akhilesh Yadav saying that the PM’s 11 resolutions were “mere jumlas” (rhetoric). The Congress said that people expected answers from the PM on injustice and inequality, he “brought up stale narratives against Congress”, adding that even top BJP leaders “seemed bored during the speech”.

Congress’s Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said his speech in the Lok Sabha was like “double period of mathematics” in school, and called the 11 resolutions of the PM “hollow”. “The PM has not spoken one thing which is new, he has bored us. It took me decades back, I felt like I was sitting in double periods mathematics,” she said.

“(J P) Naddaji was also rubbing hands but as soon as Modiji looked at him, he started acting as if he was listening attentively. Amit Shah also had his hand on head, (Piyush) Goyal ji was going off to sleep. It was a new experience for me. I had thought that the PM would say something new, something nice,” she said.

Congress MP K C Venugopal said: “During a debate on the Constitution, the PM once again decided to bring out his tired old speech about the Congress instead.” “Truth is, he has no answer to the allegations regarding the Adani mega scandal, nor does he have a response to the growing instances of caste and religious divisions created by his own regime,” he said.

“An insincere PM, whose political gurus had rejected the Constitution since day one, will never be accepted by people as being loyal to the Constitution,” he said.

Congress MP and whip in LS Manickam Tagore said: “Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi was present when the Prime Minister addressed the House, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi was absent when the Leader of Opposition spoke. Why this behavior, Mr Prime Minister?”

SP chief Akhilesh Yadav called the PM’s resolutions “jumlas”, and said: “Today, we heard resolutions of 11 ‘jumlas’. Doubling the income of farmers was a jumla, providing one crore jobs was a jumla, Agnipath scheme and GST are also jumlas,” he said.