Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his colleagues “vehemently attacked” Indira Gandhi for the 42nd Amendment but did not mention that she along with other Congress MPs had voted in favor of the 44th Amendment which removed several provisions. 42nd Amendment, Congress MP Jairam Ramesh said on Sunday.
Ramesh also pointed out that the Prime Minister and his colleagues failed to mention that many provisions of the 42nd Amendment have remained unchanged since its enactment nearly half a century ago.
“During the deliberations on the Constitution, the Prime Minister and his colleagues launched a furious attack on Indira Gandhi for the 42nd Amendment passed by Parliament in December 1976,” he said in a post on X.
“They did not mention that Indira Gandhi herself, along with other Congress MPs, then voted in favor of the 44th Amendment in December 1978, when Morarji Desai was the Prime Minister,” he said.
In 1976, the words “socialist” and “secular” were inserted in the Preamble of the Constitution under the 42nd Constitutional Amendment by the Indira Gandhi government.
The amendment changed the description of India in the preamble from “sovereign, democratic republic” to “sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic”.
Ramesh said that the 44th amendment removed many provisions from the 42nd amendment.
“Even the Prime Minister and his colleagues did not mention the fact that many provisions of the 42nd Amendment have been retained since its enactment nearly half a century ago,” the Congress leader said.
Ramesh pointed out that the words ‘socialist’ and ‘secular’ in the provisions of the 42nd Amendment were recently included by the Supreme Court in the Preamble which is part of the basic structure of the Constitution.
It includes Article 39-A, which provides for equal justice and free legal aid, and Article 43-A, which ensures workers’ participation in industrial management, Ramesh said.
The provisions laid down also include Article 48-A, which provides for protection and improvement of the environment and protection of forests and wildlife, he said.
They also include Article 51-A which lists 11 fundamental duties of citizens and Articles 323-A and 323-B which provide for administrative and other tribunals, he said.
Ramesh said that education, population planning, environment and forests are included in the seventh schedule, i.e., a concurrent list has been put in place to give responsibility to both the central and state governments.
The Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha earlier this month held a two-day debate on the “glorious journey of 75 years of India’s Constitution” that saw aggressive exchanges between the House and Opposition benches.
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