Govt, Oppn trade blows in Constitution debate

New Delhi: The government and the Opposition on Friday clashed in the Lok Sabha during the opening day of a historic debate to mark 75 years of the Constitution, with 26 speakers weighing in on themes ranging from reservation, politics, the administration’s inclusive development agenda and the missteps by previous regimes. Union defence minister Rajnath Singh opened the debate, mocking Opposition leaders for carrying copies of the Constitution in their pockets and alleged that the Congress always saw the document as a means to power. Attacking the Opposition, Panchayati Raj minister Rajiv Ranjan ‘Lalan’ Singh accused the previous Congress governments of misusing Article 356 of the Indian Constitution to topple non-Congress state governments. “All their Prime Ministers misused Article 356 of the Constitution several times to topple elected governments in states,” he said. “Unfortunately, during the last 10 years the secular fabric of the country has been at stake…Every provision of the Constitution must be broadly interpreted and extended to every poor person of India,” he said.