Congress changed the Indian Constitution 77 times in 55 years, says Amit Shah in Parliament 

Union Home Minister Amit Shah addressed the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday during a debate marking 75 years since the adoption of the Constitution and used the occasion to rip into the Congress party and its leadership over the imposition of Emergency, and for making amendments in the statute for ‘personal’ gains.

BJP leader Amit Shah made strong comments about Congress’ history with constitutional amendments. “Congress changed the Constitution 77 times in 55 years of rule,” Shah said, directly criticising the opposition. He added, “The 54-year-old leader, who calls himself ‘yuva’, constantly talks about changing the Constitution. But I want to remind you, the power to amend the Constitution is already in the Constitution itself.” Shah also pointed out that during the BJP’s 16 years in power, the party made 22 amendments to the Constitution. 

Shah said that the Congress government under Jawahar Lal Nehru brought in the first Constitutional Amendment Act to “curtail the freedom of expression”.

“The first amendment was made on June 18, 1951. After the formation of the Constitution, Congress did not have enough patience to wait for the Lok Sabha elections. Article 19A was added to curtail the freedom of speech, and Jawahar Lal Nehru was the Prime Minister at that time,” he said.

Shah also criticised Nehru for introducing Muslim Personal Law instead of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), highlighting it as a key issue in the debate. He also raised the Shah Bano case and reaffirmed the BJP government’s commitment to implementing the UCC across all states, declaring, “The BJP will ensure the UCC is introduced in every state.”

Shah also responded to the opposition’s ongoing accusations regarding the welfare of backward classes, saying, “Congress never worked for the welfare of backward classes.” He strengthened his argument by adding, “Our Constitution has strengthened the roots of democracy.” 

Earlier in the day, the government introduced the much-awaited One Nation, One Election bill in the Lok Sabha. Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal presented two important bills: the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Ninth Amendment) Bill, 2024, and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill. 

> Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal tabled the One Nation, One Election Bill, along with the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Ninth Amendment) Bill, 2024, and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill.

> Amit Shah said the Congress made changes in the Constitution 77 times in its 55 years of governance, and claoms that BJP will change the Constitution.

> Shah slammed Congress over its stance on UCC, accusing Nehru of introducing Muslim personal law instead.

> The BJP leader said that UCC will be brought in every state by the current government.

> Shah also took aim at Congress, claiming the party had never worked for the welfare of backward classes.

The political drama in Parliament is set to continue as the government advances its legislative agenda.

Reacting to Amit Shah’s speech in Parliament, Union Minister Jayant Chaudhary told the news agency ANI, “There have been many such instances in the nation when the Congress party misused power, imposed emergency. The nation will never forget it. There was a very good discussion on the protection of constitutional values. The Union Home Minister explained things in detail. A lot of information that was not in the public domain was also made available…”

“Today whatever Home Minister said is far from truth, it’s a lie, for example, the Ambedkar statue, was it built during their (BJP) tenure?…everything is a lie…they are trying to divert people through lies, and it won’t go for long…he came to the Parliament just to praise PM Modi…,” Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge said.

(With inputs from agencies)