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Journalism of Courage
NEW DELHI, JANUARY 27: Even as a grateful nation today paid homage to the founding fathers of the Indian Constitution, president K R Narayanan and Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee expressed divergent views on the proposed move to review the Constitution.
8220;Today, when there is so much talk about reviving the Constitution, or even writing a new Constitution, we have to consider whether it is the Constitution that has failed us or whether it is we who have failed the Constitution,8221; President K R Narayanan said, while addressing the function in the Central Hall of the Parliament.
Justifying the move to review the Constitution, Vajpayee said that the people were impatient for faster socio-economic development and that the country also faced the pressing challenge to quickly remove regional and social imbalances by re-orienting the development process 8212; to benefit the poorest and the weakest.
He said that was the purpose for which the commission to review the Constitution was proposed to be set up, adding that the basic structure and core ideals would remain inviolate.
Vajpayee said, 8220;Our Constitution has served the needs of both India8217;s diversity and her innate unity. It has strengthened India8217;s democratic institutions.8221;
He added that even in the mightiest fort, one has to repair the parapet from time to time, one has to clean the moat and check the banisters. The same is true about our Constitution. He said five decades after the adoption of the Constitution, India is faced with a new situation. The need for stability, both at the Centre and in the states, has been felt acutely.
Speaking after the release of a special commemorative stamp which depicted cartoonist Ranga8217;s drawing of Mahatma Gandhi wearing a shawl that depicted the map of the country, Vice-President Krishan Kant referred to the various landmarks in the country8217;s fight against British rule. After quoting from a poem by Nazir Banarasi calling Mahatma Gandhi 8220;the old gardener8221;, Kant said, 8220;Let us take the pledge today that we will never allow this garland of flowers, strung together by Gandhiji, to be broken.8221;
Earlier, Lok Sabha speaker G M C Balayogi said the nation could not afford to be complacent and had to face serious challenges to achieve the kind of socio-economic progress that the founding fathers of the Constitution had envisioned. He said much work remained to be done to wipe the tears from every eye, although that the nation had successfully met the challenge of a viable system of government.
He said that there was need to work for promoting a way of life which recognised liberty, equality and fraternity as the principles of life, and brought about emotional integration of the diverse people of the country. He said, 8220;Striving towards the realisation of the lofty vision of our founding fathers is our collective responsibility.8221;
In the function that lasted just over an hour, a special commemorative plaque, an album of Jana Gana Mana, and a calligraphy of the Constitution in Hindi by Vasant Krishan Vaidya decorated by Nandlal Bose were released by Vajpayee and Narayanan, apart from a stamp released by the Vice-President. There were two audio-visuals about the framing of the Constitution and the speeches of Dr Rajendra Prasad, Jawaharlal Nehru, Dr B R Ambedkar and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. The function was attended by a large number of Union Ministers, Members of Parliament, some freedom fighters and other dignitaries.
