NV Subash
If anyone could turn a routine Constitution debate into a political blockbuster, it was our Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. As India celebrated the 75th anniversary of the Constitution, Modi delivered a masterstroke, exposing the Congress’s shameful history with surgical precision. While the Opposition has been shouting “Samvidhan khatre mein hai” (the Constitution is under threat) from the rooftops ever since the BJP came to power, Modi flipped the script and laid bare an uncomfortable truth: if anyone has consistently undermined the Constitution, it’s the Congress party—the self-proclaimed protectors of democracy.
The Congress, led by its dynastic heirs Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi, walked into the debate hoping to corner Modi but ended up with a history lesson and a public humiliation. The Prime Minister spared no punches, starting with the dark days of the Emergency imposed by their grandmother, Indira Gandhi. He reminded the nation how she shredded the Constitution to cling to power, throttled the judiciary, silenced the media, and jailed dissenters. And he didn’t stop there—Modi dragged in their father, Rajiv Gandhi, pointing to his overturning of the Supreme Court’s Shah Bano verdict as yet another instance of trampling constitutional values for political expediency.
The siblings, clearly out of their depth, had little to say in their defense. They know they can’t erase the stain of the Emergency or their family’s history of constitutional manipulation. Instead, they clumsily diverted the debate to issues like unemployment and farmers’ woes—conveniently ignoring the topic of the day. The allies of Congress didn’t fare any better. Parties like the SP and RJD, whose founders were victims of the Emergency, looked visibly uncomfortable. Their participation in the debate, riddled with bizarre allegations, was a reluctant attempt to stay politically relevant. Even DMK’s A Raja, who was jailed during Congress rule, unintentionally highlighted the irony of his own complaints.
Then came Modi’s pièce de résistance: a fiery two-hour speech that laid the Congress bare before the nation. With live coverage beaming his every word into households across India, Modi took his audience on a journey from Jawaharlal Nehru to Indira Gandhi to Rajiv Gandhi, meticulously exposing their disdain for Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s vision. He reminded the nation how the Congress amended the Constitution a staggering 50 times, each amendment designed to preserve their grip on power.
In contrast, Modi showcased his government’s track record: only eight amendments, all in the national interest. He proudly cited the abrogation of Article 370, which integrated Jammu and Kashmir fully into India, as a testament to his government’s commitment to constitutional values. He didn’t mince words when calling out Nehru for the unconstitutional insertion of Article 35A through a Presidential order, bypassing Parliament altogether.
By the end of the debate, the Congress’s decision to call for it looked like political suicide. Modi’s speech was not just a defense of his government but a damning indictment of the Congress’s six decades of constitutional vandalism. Social media lit up with clips of his speech, ensuring his punches would echo for days.
In a live, unfiltered moment, Modi turned the tables, giving the youth a history lesson and the Congress a reason to regret. If this was a debate, it was one the Congress lost spectacularly. The Prime Minister didn’t just win; he delivered a knockout.