Sambit Patra Criticizes Congress for Constitution Display in Lok Sabha
New Delhi, June 26: BJP MP and spokesperson Sambit Patra criticized Congress and Opposition parties for holding copies of the Constitution in the Lok Sabha. He emphasized that genuine respect for the Constitution must come from within, not just by holding copies of it.
Patra’s remarks were in response to Congress MPs displaying copies of the Constitution while taking oath. He said, “Rahul ji, we can’t protect the Constitution by holding copies of it; instead, to protect the Constitution, there should be respect for it in the heart.”
He also mentioned that when Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla brought a resolution against the Emergency, Congress MPs protested, but Samajwadi Party MPs remained seated. Patra suggested that this situation highlights contradictions within the INDIA bloc.
Om Birla was re-elected as the Speaker of Lok Sabha. On June 25, 1975, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi imposed a 21-month state of Emergency, marking its 50th anniversary this year. The Emergency is considered one of the most controversial periods in India’s political history.
Earlier, Speaker Om Birla condemned the Emergency, and the house observed a two-minute silence for those who lost their lives during that period. Birla stated, “This House strongly condemns the decision to impose Emergency in 1975. Along with this, we appreciate the determination of all those people who opposed the Emergency, fought and fulfilled the responsibility of protecting the democracy of India. 25th June 1975 will always be known as a black chapter in the history of India.”
He added, “On this day, the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi imposed an Emergency in the country and attacked the Constitution made by Baba Saheb Ambedkar. India is known all over the world as the mother of democracy. Democratic values and debate have always been supported in India. Democratic values have always been protected, they have always been encouraged. Dictatorship was imposed on such an India by Indira Gandhi. The democratic values of India were crushed and freedom of expression was strangled.”
