DC Edit | Constitution debate shows up deep political acrimony

The Lok Sabha’s special discussion on 75 years of the Constitution, proposed by the Opposition and agreed to by the ruling front, was expected to be an occasion for a quiet reflection and assessment of the functioning of the ideas contained in the document, a balanced attempt to identify its shortcomings and the formation of a general consensus on the way forward. Prime Minister Narendra Modi cannot be faulted for reminding the House and the people of the country of the horrors of Emergency; it’s the legitimate right of the leader of a party whose earlier avatar had fought the worst government move against democracy to recall those experiences and the impact it had on the nation’s polity. A mention of how the 139-year-old party steered the rocking boat of democracy by developing its institutions and staying the course despite several other nations having dropped by the wayside some of the seminal ideas their constitutions contained, including democracy and secularism, would have made his criticism all the more credible. Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi put it succinctly when he said that the articles of the Constitution have enabling provisions for growth and development but “the BJP-led government follows the disturbing trends of the Manusmriti to undermine them”.