Congress' record in curtailing freedom of speech is unmatched, says FM Nirmala Sitharaman in Rajya Sabha

FM Nirmala Sitharaman

Leading the discussion in Rajya Sabha on the “glorious journey of 75 years” of India’s Constitution, Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, reminded the Congress of its brazen attempts to curtail freedom of speech through amendments of the Constitution.

Recalling a specific amendment, the finance minister highlighted how the first amendment to the Constitution changed the very nature of engagement when it comes to freedom of speech and expression.

Elucidating the point on how the first amendment curbed freedom of expression and speech, the Finance Minister said: “The Supreme Court in 1950 had ruled in favour of the Communist magazine ‘Cross Roads’ and the RSS organisational magazine ‘Organizer.’ But in response, the (then) interim government thought that there was a need for a first Constitutional amendment and that was brought in by the INC and it was essentially to curb the freedom. So India, a democratic country which prides itself even today about freedom of expression saw the first interim government coming up with a Constitutional amendment which was to curb the freedom of speech of Indians and that within one year of adoption of the Constitution.”

The final week of the Winter Session of Parliament commenced today with Rajya Sabha initiating a two-day debate on the Constitution, which completed 75 years on November 26. The Lok Sabha held the Constitution debate on Friday and Saturday, which is otherwise a non-working day.

Explaining how Constitutions underwent a change in over 50 countries, she said: “Post Second World War, over 50 countries had become independent and had their Constitution written. But many have changed their Constitutions, not just amended them but literally changed the entire feature of their Constitution. But our Constitution has stood the test of time, of course, yielded itself to very many amendments."

Concluding the debate in Lok Sabha on Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the Constitutional amendments introduced by his government were not aimed at consolidating power, unlike those made by the Congress. The debate was initiated in the Lok Sabha by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday, with PM Modi, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, and other MPs partaking.