PM Modi Defends Om Birla’s Address on Emergency, Says ‘1977 Election Saved Constitution’
Reflecting on the era of Emergency, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his response to the Motion of Thanks on the President’s Address in the Rajya Sabha, emphasized the significance of the 1977 election in safeguarding the constitution.
#WATCH | Speaking in the Rajya Sabha on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address, PM Modi remarked, “If this election was to save the Constitution, then the people of the nation chose us for it…1977 election saved the Constitution…” pic.twitter.com/3Hc99ehEx1
— ANI (@ANI) July 3, 2024
“If this election was to save the Constitution, then the people of the nation chose us for it…1977 election saved the Constitution…,” highlighted the PM.
Upon being elected as Lok Sabha Speaker, Om Birla denounced the imposition of Emergency by the then-Congress government in 1975.
Moreover, PM Narendra Modi took a dig at the Congress regarding the Lok Sabha 2024 elections. He observed, “With these election results, not only a surge in the capital market is witnessed but also a global atmosphere of celebration… Amidst this, Congress members seem delighted. I fail to comprehend the reason for this joy… Is it for the hattrick of losses? Is it for crumbling under pressure? Is it for yet another failed attempt?”
#WATCH | PM Narendra Modi takes a jibe at Congress over Lok Sabha 2024 elections.
He says, “With these election results, not only a jump in the capital market is being seen but there is also an atmosphere of joy across the world…Amid this, Congress people are also happy. I… pic.twitter.com/AmQqo8qTHT
— ANI (@ANI) July 3, 2024
He further remarked, “You would have witnessed the issue of Lok Sabha Speaker; their defeat was inevitable there, yet whom did they nominate? A Dalit. They anticipated his loss but still fielded him. In the 2022 President and Vice President elections, they put forward Sushil Kumar Shinde to allow the Dalit to lose; they had nothing to forfeit. In 2017, when their defeat was certain, they brought in Meira Kumar…”
PM Modi accused the Congress of harboring an anti-SC/ST/OBC mentality, leading them to belittle former President Ram Nath Kovind. “With this mindset, they spared no effort in demeaning the first tribal woman President of the nation and used language no one else can,” he added.
Additionally, during the address, the opposition MPs protested against the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, being barred from speaking. Expressing their discontent, they chanted slogans against the PM and staged a walkout.
Congress leader and LoP in Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, stated that they walked out as the PM distorted facts while addressing the House on the President’s speech. “It’s his usual practice to fabricate and exaggerate. I simply asked him that, during his discourse on the Constitution, you didn’t create the Constitution, you were against it. I was merely clarifying who stood for and against the Constitution… They (RSS) opposed the Constitution. They burned effigies of BR Ambedkar & Pandit Nehru… He repeatedly claims we disrespected BR Ambedkar, he cited it in the Lok Sabha and continues to repeat it today… I wanted to highlight what Babasaheb stated in the Constituent assembly and what the RSS wrote in the Organiser.”
Addressing the Opposition’s walkout from the Rajya Sabha, NCP-SCP chief Sharad Pawar remarked, “He (Mallikarjun Kharge) holds a constitutional position. Whether it’s the PM or the House Chairman, it’s their duty to respect him, but today that was overlooked, and therefore the entire opposition stands by him, which led to our walkout.”
(With inputs from agencies)