PM to respond to Lok Sabha debate on Constitution and Amit Shah in Rajya Sabha

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi will respond to the debate on the 75th anniversary of the Constitution in the Lok Sabha on Saturday. The debate itself will begin on Friday. The debate in the Rajya Sabha will begin the December 16) and extend to December 17. It will be initiated, and led, by Home Minister Amit Shah.


Opposition parties had demanded discussions in both Houses to mark the 75th anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution. The opposition has also been targeting the ruling BJP over claims the third Modi government will look to alter the Constitution on fundamental level.


These claims were among the major campaign issues raised by the Congress and other opposition parties ahead of the April-June federal election; the Congress has since continued to attack the BJP on this issue, with senior leaders like Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra frequently waving red-bound copies of the Constitution at speeches to make their points.


Both, in fact, took their oaths as MP with a copy in their hands.


The BJP has, more than, once dismissed such claims.


Mr Shah pointed out in May the first and second Modi governments could have done exactly that but did not; "We had the mandate to change the Constitution for 10 years but did it..."


The opposition's red flags on this issue, however, were raised again after recent comments by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, who told News Agency India, "People have looked at the Constitution with different views at different times... amendments have been made too..."