Trinamool Congress today called for preserving the spirit of the Constitution of India in the Parliament. Through their passionate speeches in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha respectively, Kalyan Banerjee and Sukhendu Sekhar Roy paid rich tributes to the chief architect of the Constitution, Dr BR Ambedkar.
In his speech, Kalyan Banerjee advised the Centre not to play the ‘Big Brother’ and treat the States as junior. Making a strong case for federalism, he said, “Funding for a large number of centrally-sponsored schemes, without consulting state govt, have been delinked. States were not taken into confidence before imposing Swachh Bharat cess. It is a burden on people and against federal structure.”
He also said that secularism means equality of all religions. It has been given a place of pride in the Constitution.
“Mother Teresa said “God has not called me to be successful but faithful”. After 65 years we must assess how much faithful to Const we are,” Kalyan Banerjee submitted.
In the Upper House of the Parliament, Sukhendu Sekhar Roy quoted Tagore’s verses to drive home the point about fulfilling the spirit of Constitution.
“Authority has been given by Constitution framers not to misuse them but to serve the nation. All forms of authoritarianism must be avoided,” he said.
Speaking on federalism, he said, “If govt is serious about cooperative federalism, it must implement the Punchi Commission report.” He also highlighted the rising instances of intolerance in the country.
Quoting the President of India on rising intolerance in the country, SS Roy called for introspection why the first citizen of the country was compelled to make such a statement.
“If we wish to preserve the Constitution, let us resolve let us not be turdy in recognition of the evils that lie in our path,” he added.
On the issue of secularism, Dr Roy quoted Babasaheb Ambedkar: “State is neither religious not anti-religious. It is totally detached from religion”.
Incidentally, the West Bengal Government has decided to observe 30 December as ‘Ambedkar Diwas’.
Full transcript of Kalyan Banerjee’s speech.
Full transcript of SS Roy’s speech.
