P Chidambaram writes: Big blow to the Constitution

BJP’s Emergency Obsession

In the imagination of anti-Congress political formations, particularly the BJP and right-wing elements, the Congress’ relationship with the Constitution was accompanied by the Emergency that lasted from June 1975–March 1977 and the suspension of fundamental rights of citizens. True, it was an ugly chapter in the 139-year history of the Congress, but Indira Gandhi apologized and promised that the Emergency would never happen again. The people accepted his apology and returned him and the Congress to power in 1980 with a landslide majority.

Does the Congress have any other help in making the constitution and strengthening the constitution? There is, and that inspiring story is rarely told. Article 368 of the Constitution gives Parliament the power to amend the Constitution – an essential power in any country’s constitution. Because a nation goes through ups and downs; Because the nation faces new threats and opportunities; And because judges who hear cases interpret and reinterpret the Constitution. The constitution is a living document, which should be transformed into the changing life of the nation.

The amendment strengthened the constitution

If I had spoken in the debate, I would have recalled some of the amendments made to the Constitution by the Congress governments which actually strengthened the Constitution and furthered the lofty goals enunciated in the Preamble of the Constitution – particularly justice (social, economic and political). and equality (of status and opportunity).

The Constitution (First Amendment) Act, 1951 was a fundamental law. It has constitutionally protected reservations for the advancement of socially and educationally backward classes of citizens or Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. In the absence of the First Amendment, the entire edifice of reservation cannot be constructed.

The First Amendment inserted Article 31A and Article 31B and paved the way for the abolition of the oppressive, feudal landlord system – and freed millions of peasants and farm laborers – and facilitated land reform and land distribution.

The First Amendment also lays down the legal basis for public sector undertakings to exclude citizens in whole or in part from any trade, industry, business or service.

The Constitution (40th Amendment) Act, 1976 has been maligned due to many changes made in the Constitution. However, few remember that it made two changes that the future will remember. First, there was the insertion of Article 39-A to legally compel the state to “provide free legal aid” to ensure equal justice. Another was the insertion of Article 48-A to make it mandatory for the State to protect and improve the “environment” and protect forests and wildlife.

The Constitution (52nd Amendment) Act, 1985, which introduced the Tenth Schedule to the Constitution, was the first attempt to address the perennial problem of Ayaram and Gayaram (Paksha Dalal). Alas, it did not anticipate the cunning of elected legislators or the connivance of Speakers or the confused judgments of courts. The objective of the tenth schedule will be achieved only if the schedule is amended again.

The most far-reaching constitutional amendments were the Constitution (Seventy-third Amendment) Act, 1992 and the Constitution (Seventy-fourth Amendment) Act, 1992, which made separate provisions for Panchayats and Municipalities and deepened and strengthened democracy. Millions of women and members of scheduled castes and tribes were brought into the political mainstream and empowered to exercise democratic power. There has never been an example of such a large-scale transfer and redistribution of power in history.

The debate in both houses was, unfortunately, punitive. It focused on the only distortion in the Constitution’s 75-year journey that was actually serious. One Nation One Election and other changes proposed by the BJP are bad: they threaten to undermine democracy and federalism. However, I am confident that the strong backbone of the constitution and its strong and progressive spirit will eventually prevail.