Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched a sharp criticism against India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, accusing him of altering the Constitution and attacking the right to freedom of expression. Speaking in the Lok Sabha during the ongoing discussion on the “Glorious Journey of 75 Years of the Constitution of India,” Modi alleged that Nehru had made changes to the Constitution without the mandate of the people.
“The country did not have an elected government from 1947 to 1952. A temporary system, a selected government, was in place. Elections were not held. An interim government was in place until the elections. Before 1952, Rajya Sabha was also not formed. There were no elections in states as well,” the Prime Minister said, outlining his views on the situation in post-independence India before the first general elections in 1952.
PM Modi further accused Nehru of amending the Constitution through an ordinance in 1951, during a period when India did not have an elected government. “In 1951, when there wasn’t an elected government, he amended the Constitution through an Ordinance. Right to Freedom of Expression was attacked… This was an insult to Constitution makers,” Modi stated.
He went on to assert that Nehru’s actions were an attack on the fundamental rights of citizens and a violation of the principles the framers of the Constitution had established. “As soon as he saw an opportunity, he dealt a blow to the Right to Express. This was a grave insult to Constitution makers. What could not be facilitated in the Constituent Assembly, he facilitated through the back door, and that too when he was not the PM of an elected government. He committed a sin,” Modi added.
The remarks have sparked a renewed debate over the legacy of Jawaharlal Nehru, with critics of the government accusing Modi of attempting to discredit the first Prime Minister’s role in shaping India’s democratic foundations.
