Indian Constitution living, progressive document: President Murmu

Addressing an event to kickstart the year-long celebrations of the 75th anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution, Murmu recalled the contribution of the 15 women members of the Constituent Assembly in framing the document.

New Delhi: President Droupadi Murmu, with a reading of the Preamble, led the celebrations of the Constitution Day in a Joint Sitting of both Houses of Parliament on Tuesday.

Samajwadi Party stayed away from the event citing the Sambal incident, and the BJP accused Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi of disrespecting President Murmu as he sat down when the President was still on the dais standing.

The celebrations, which took place at the Central Hall of the Samvidhan Sadan, the old Parliament building, saw the attendance of several MPs across parties.

Apart from President Murmu, also present on the dais were Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankar, Lok Speaker Om Birla, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha Harivansh Narayan Singh, Rajya Sabha LoP Mallikarjun Kharge, Rajya Sabha Leader of the House JP Nadda, Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi and Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju.

President Murmu, after leading the reading of the Preamble, said in her speech that those present in the Central Hall were both participants and witnesses of a historic occasion.

“Seventy-five years ago, on this very day, in this very Central Hall of the ‘Samvidhan Sadan’, the Constituent Assembly accomplished the huge task of framing the Constitution for a newly independent country. Our Constitution is the strong foundation stone of our democratic republic. Our Constitution ensures our collective and individual dignity,” she said.

As part of the Celebrations, the dignitaries released a commemorative coin, a stamp, two books on the Constitution, besides translation of the Constitution in Sanskrit and Maithili.

In his speech, V-P Dhankar said that decorum and discipline are crucial in Parliamentary discourse. “Disturbance as a strategy threatens democratic institutions. It is time to restore the sanctity of our democratic temples through constructive dialogue, debate, and meaningful discussion to serve our people effectively,” Dhankar said.

After the celebrations were over, the social media handles of the BJP alleged that LoP Rahul Gandhi “disrespected” President Murmu by not greeting her.

The party’s account on X posted two video clips and said, “Rahul Gandhi is so arrogant that he did not even greet the President. Just because she comes from the tribal community, is a woman and Rahul Gandhi is the scion of Congress.”

In one of the videos, Gandhi was seen sitting even as the President stood with Kharge, who was standing next to Gandhi, seen prompting him to get up.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said that the Constitution Diwas was celebrated even as lives were lost in Sambhal. He alleged that even after a survey was done, another was mounted to aggravate the people.

“No one can go there. LoPs of both Houses want to visit Sambhal but they are not allowed to go. All our MPs want to go to Sambhal but we are not allowed,” Yadav said at the sidelines of the event in Parliament.