The Constitution is not only a static document but a journey, and it has been amended before, Union Minister Kiren Riiju said at the NDTV India Samvad Samvidhan 2024 Summit today.
Explaining how Prime Minister Narendra Modi worked hard and pushed for the celebration of the Samvidhan Diwas, or Constitution Day, Mr Rijiju said, "PM Modi has been a protector of the Constitution."
Constitution Day will be celebrated on Tuesday.
"The Constitution is a book. However, as a citizen, we have to follow a way of life. Many people have given their views on the Constitution from time to time, and they are constructive views. People have also looked at the Constitution with different views at different points of time, amendments have been made too," said the Parliamentary and Minority Affairs Minister.
"I am not going into minute details about the Constitution as it will be a lengthy discussion. But everyone knows that the Constitution is not a static document. It is a journey, which has seen changes and will see changes. Except for the basic principles which are at the core, which we cannot and should not touch, nothing is permanent in a democratic system," Mr Rijiju said.
Recalling his long years as an MP and his stint as the Union Law Minister, Mr Rijiju said, "We don't have full information about what happened during the framing of the Constitution. There were some small and big incidents. And there are matters which we have not paid attention to, which have not come into our attention prominently..."
He said the government will release two books on the Constitution on Tuesday.
"There are many interesting things about the Constitution. Before it was drafted, when there was no Constitution, what did people envisage how the Constitution would be? What did they imagine? They must have thought something about the future..." Mr Rijiju said, adding the two books will give a glimpse into the inspiration behind the drafting of the Constitution.
"For example, in Fundamental Rights, if there is a picture from the Bhagavad Gita, who added it and why... Such inspirations are interesting to study. The makers of the Constitution have given a lot of thought, looked into every possible aspect..." said Mr Rijiju, who was Union Law Minister in the Modi 2.0 government.
The Constituent Assembly of India adopted the Constitution, which came into effect from January 26, 1950. The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment in November 2015 notified the decision of the Modi government to celebrate November 26 as Constitution Day to promote Constitution values among citizens.
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