Modi strikes conciliatory note, harps on consensus

A visibly mellowed down Prime Minister Narendra Modi, following the electoral reverses faced by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Bihar assembly polls, on Friday reached out to the Opposition for reconciliation and consensus on major legislative business pending in Parliament. Replying to the debate on “Commitment to Constitution” in the Lok Sabha, Modi went to the extent of eulogizing nation’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.

Modi’s reply came after the Congress attacked the BJP in Parliament for not acknowledging the contribution of leaders like Nehru in making of the Constitution. The Congress said this attitude reflected the ruling party’s intolerance.

The Prime Minister’s gesture came after vitriol was poured on the government earlier in the day by the Leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, participating in the debate on the same matter. “You (referring to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s address) can talk about the German Constitution, its dictator. But you feel ashamed to talk about (Jawaharlal) Nehru. You are not able to recognize the contribution of the first Prime Minister. This is called intolerance. It flows from the top and percolates down to the streets,” Azad told the  Rajya Sabha.

In his address later in the day, Modi made it a point to mention Nehru to soothe ruffled feathers in the Congress benches. “When Lohia told Nehru that his policies weren’t working, Nehru stood up and said “I can’t deny those facts”. That was his maturity,” said Modi referring to the contribution made by the nation’s first PM. 

Less than a fortnight back PM had skipped the function at Shanti Van to commemorate Nehru’s anniversary.

In his hard-hitting speech made in the Upper House in the presence of Modi, Ghulam Nabi Azad accused the ruling dispensation of attempting to “manufacture a clash” between heroes of the freedom struggle like Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, Sardar Patel and Nehru on the lines of “divide and rule” policy.

Modi while replying in the Lower House said ‘India first’ was the only religion of his government and Constitution was the only holy book while asserting his commitment to work for the welfare of people of all sections and religions. He ruled out any review of the Constitution and reached out to the Opposition saying that the ruling side did not believe in forcing decisions using its majority but rather believed in working through consensus.

Modi also sang paeans to Ambedkar the Chairman of the Constitution Drafting Committee and said despite the insults he faced in his lifetime, he drafted the Indian constitution without any bias. “It was the height of Ambedkar’s personality that he bore all humiliation but there was no sense of revenge in him; no sense of revenge is reflected in the constitution,” said Modi.