PM not speaking at Constitution Day event, oppn reacting without knowing arrangement: Rijiju
New Delhi: Ahead of the 75th anniversary celebrations of adoption of the Constitution, Union minister Kiren Rijiju on Tuesday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not be addressing the event and accused “some of the Opposition parties” of giving reactions without knowing the actual arrangement.
The Union minister of parliamentary affairs made the remarks during a pre-event briefing here, in response to a query on leaders of various INDIA bloc parties having written to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to allow opposition leaders of both Houses to speak during the Constitution Day function.
President Droupadi Murmu will lead the celebrations at the Central Hall of the old Parliament complex on November 26 to mark 75 years of the adoption of the Constitution, the government announced on Monday.
Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Prime Minister Modi and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla will also take part in the celebrations.
After a presentation by Union Culture Secretary Arunish Chawla, Rijiju and Union ministers Arjun Ram Meghwal and Gajendra Singh Shekhawat interacted with mediapersons at the National Media Centre.
“The problem with some of the Opposition parties is that without knowing the actual arrangement. they started giving reactions. The prime minister is not even speaking tomorrow in the function. The Speaker, the vice president and the President of India will speak,” he said.
“Secondly, we have made sitting arrangements for the Leader of Opposition of both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on the dais. Without knowing anything, this kind of reaction on a very solemn occasion is condemnable,” Rijiju said.
The Union minister also said that the Constitution Day celebration was above politics and is a celebration of the country.
“On the occasion of the 75 years of India’s Constitution, we are getting an opportunity to take part in the celebrations at Parliament (complex). Tomorrow, will be the address of the President. There will be a joint sitting of the members of both Houses. It will be a celebration of 75 years of the adoption of India’s Constitution in Delhi. And, many other events will be held in various parts of the country too,” he said.
“We will sit in the very same chamber where the Constituent Assembly sittings happened and the Constitution was adopted,” Rijiju added.
He termed the event a “historic occasion”.
“I believe that it is not just an event of the judiciary, executive and legislative wings..entire country has to take part in this celebrations, in full spirt and read the Preamble,” Rijiju said.
The minister extolled the Constitution and said it gave rise to a “successful and vibrant democracy”.
And the credit goes to the founding father, the makers of the Indian Constitution, he added.
The letter written to the Lok Sabha Speaker which had been signed by leaders of various parties reads, “We are writing in the context of the function being held tomorrow (Tuesday) in the Central Hall of Samvidhan Sadan to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution of India. We understand that the function will be addressed by the president, vice-president and the prime minister of India.” “We believe that in the best traditions and interests of Parliamentary democracy, the Leaders of Opposition (LoPs) in both Houses should also be given an opportunity to speak on this historic occasion,” it added.
The signatories to the letter include TR Baalu, Tiruchi Siva, Kanimozhi, Supriya Sule, Raghav Chadha, P Sandosh Kumar, ET Mohammed Bashir, K Radhakrishnan, Ramji Lal Suman, and NK Premachandran.
About the Author
