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‘Cong treated Constitution as private fiefdom of one family’: Amit Shah in Rajya Sabha| Top 10 quotes
Union home minister Amit Shah accused Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru of curtailing freedom of expression through first constitutional amendment
Union home minister Amit Shah on Tuesday hit out at the Congress and Nehru-Gandhi family on several issues during a debate on the Constitution in Rajya Sabha.
Concluding the discussion in the Rajya Sabha on the 75 years of adoption of the Constitution, Shah said,"They (Cong) did nothing except eulogising Nehru-Gandhi family."
During his address in the Upper House, the minister also accused the grand old party of “not working for the welfare of backward classes” and “committing injustice to Muslim women”.
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Here are Amit Shah's top 10 quotes in the Rajya Sabha:-
1. Amit Shah said that the BJP when in power amended the Constitution 22 times in its 16-year rule. He alleged that Congress made 77 amendments to the Constitution in 55 years when it was in power. “The BJP governed for 16 years and made 22 amendments to the Constitution. In contrast, the Congress party ruled for 55 years and made 77 amendments. Both parties have made amendments to the Constitution. There are different ways to implement amendments—some follow constitutional procedures, while others may be done merely as a formality,” he said.
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2. The Union home minister hit out at the Congress and opposition parties, accusing them of questioning Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) on losing elections. The EC kept the EVM from 10 am to 5 pm for 3 days open for anyone to prove if it could be hacked. No one came... They lost Maharashtra and won in Jharkhand on the same day. The people of Maharashtra punished them for their lies... On the same day, EVM was blamed in Maharashtra and they prepared themselves for the swearing-in ceremony in Jharkhand," he said.
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3. Shah slammed India's first prime minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, saying,"The first amendment was to curtail the freedom of expression by Former PM Jawahar Lal Nehru. The 24th Amendment was brought by his daughter Indira Gandhi. On November 24, 1971, the Parliament was given the right to reduce the fundamental rights of the citizens."
4. “In the last 75 years, there have been many nations that became independent and had new beginnings but democracy did not succeed there. But our democracy is deep-rooted. We made numerous changes without shedding a drop of blood. The people of this country have shattered the arrogance of multiple dictators and that too democratically,” Shah said.
ALSO READ: Modi blames Congress for stifling Constitution across 7 decades
5. Amit Shah continued his attack on Congress, saying the opposition party considered it as the "private fiefdom" of one family and amended it to remain in power. He also accused the Congress of being anti-reservation and said it never worked for the benefit of the backward classes.
6. “Congress is an anti-reservation party… In 1955, the Kaka Kalelkar Commission was formed to provide reservations to the OBC. The report was nowhere to be found. Had the recommendations of the Kaka Kalelkar Commission been accepted, the Mandal Commission would not have been formed. In 1980, the recommendations of the Mandal Commission came out, but it was not implemented. It was implemented when Congress was voted out in 1990,” he added.
7. “I would like to ask the leaders of the Congress party who invoke the constitution, but when you implemented 35A, when did its constitution order come up for debate in the parliament, when did it take place for voting and who passed it. You consider the party to be the property of a private family; you also consider the Constitution to be the property of a private family,” Shah said.
8. “Congress does vote bank politics, we are not doing vote bank politics. The Congress party has done injustice to Muslim sisters for so long by doing vote bank politics. We have given rights to Muslim mothers and sisters by ending triple talaq,” Shah said during his address.
9. Shah attacked the Congress on Emergency, saying"Lakhs of people were jailed. Media was censored. Every child should be told about Emergency so that no one dares to impose it again."
10. Amit Shah said India is now the fifth largest economy in the world. "The people of our country and our Constitution have given a befitting reply to those who said that we would never be able to become economically independent... Today we are the 5th largest economy... We have left Britain behind," he said.
(With agency inputs)
