Congress leader Jairam Ramesh.
Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: The Congress on Wednesday took a swipe at Narendra Modi over his call urging citizens to fulfil their Constitutional duties, saying the prime minister's commitment to at least four such duties is "demonstrably suspect", including that of abiding by the Constitution and respecting its ideals and institutions.
The opposition party's attack came after Modi urged citizens to fulfil their Constitutional duties, asserting that these were foundations for a strong democracy.
Congress general secretary in-charge communications, Jairam Ramesh, said, "Part IV-A, Article 51-A of the Constitution relates to Fundamental Duties and has enumerated eleven of them. But is the Prime Minister fulfilling even his own fundamental duties as a citizen and leader?" "There are at least four Fundamental Duties to which the PM's commitment is demonstrably suspect -- abiding by the Constitution and respecting its ideals and institutions; cherishing and following the noble ideals which inspired our national struggle for freedom; promoting harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood among all the people of India, transcending religious, linguistic and regional or sectional diversities; developing scientific temper, humanism, and the spirit of inquiry and reform," Ramesh said on X.
In a letter to citizens on Constitution Day, the prime minister stressed the responsibility of strengthening democracy by exercising the right to vote, and suggested that schools and colleges celebrate Constitution Day by honouring first-time voters turning 18.
Modi also recalled Mahatma Gandhi's belief that rights flow from the performance of duties, stressing that fulfilling duties is the foundation for social and economic progress.
The prime minister recalled the contributions of Rajendra Prasad and B R Ambedkar and several others in the drafting of the Constitution.
He also paid tributes to the leadership of Vallabhbhai Patel, Birsa Munda and Mahatma Gandhi in the freedom struggle.
"All these personalities and milestones remind us of the primacy of our duties, something the Constitution also emphasises through a dedicated chapter on Fundamental Duties in Article 51A. These duties guide us on how to collectively achieve social and economic progress," the prime minister said.
He recalled that Mahatma Gandhi always emphasised the duties of a citizen.
Since 2015, Constitution Day or Samvidhan Diwas is celebrated on November 26 to commemorate the adoption of the Constitution by the Constituent Assembly on November 26, 1949.