New Delhi: Referring to the present as an ‘era of duty’ (kartavya kaal), Prime Minister Narendra Modi Saturday extolled the virtue of ‘We the People’ in the Preamble of the Constitution, saying it this was this commitment, pledge and belief that had made India the “mother of democracies”.
The PM was speaking at an event at the Supreme Court, organised to celebrate the country’s Constitution Day.
Constitution Day, or Samvidhan Diwas, is celebrated every year on 26 November to commemorate the adoption of the Indian Constitution by the Constituent Assembly, on this day in 1949. The Constitution came into effect on 26 January, 1950.
Union ministries and senior leaders celebrated India’s Constitution Day Saturday by taking to social media to greet the people, reading sections from the Preamble to the Constitution and inaugurating new social justice initiatives.
Explaining that the Indian Constitution was “youth centric”, Modi said, “Today, on Constitution Day, I would also make a request to the country’s judiciary that debate and discussion should be increased in order to increase the understanding of the Constitution among the youth”.
He also complimented the Indian judiciary for taking steps to ensure timely justice to people.
The event also saw the Prime Minister launching new initiatives such as ‘Virtual Justice Clock’, the ‘JustIS’ mobile app 2.0, a digital court and ‘S3WaaS’ websites, under the Union government’s e-court project to provide better service to litigants, lawyers and the judiciary through information and communication technology-enabled courts.
Referring to the Union government’s ongoing “Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav” — a celebration of 75 years of Indian independence — the PM said amrit kaal was also “kartavya kaal” (era of duties), and our duties were our foremost priorities.
Quoting Mahatma Gandhi, the PM said that fundamental rights were those responsibilities that should be fulfilled by citizens with utmost dedication and true integrity.
The event also saw law minister Kiren Rijiju launching the Bharatiya Bhasha Samiti, a committee chaired by former CJI S.A. Bobde, to ensure an increase in the use of local languages in courts, which in turn, it is hoped, will increase the confidence of common Indians in the country’s judicial system.
Rijiju also said that the Union government under PM Modi had never undermined the authority of the judiciary and will always ensure its independence remains intact and is promoted.
Also read: Modi’s reforms, Ambedkar’s ideals – It’s time to debate bringing back original Preamble
What other ministries did
Officials of the Ministry of Law and Justice not only read from the Preamble to commemorate Constitution Day, but also pledged to protect the values enshrined in the Constitution.
In honor of the intent of the #IndianConstitution, and to commemorate the 73rd #ConstitutionDay, DoJ takes pledge by reading the Preamble & exploring this living document that helps #Indians to establish a community of people to abide by the rules enshrined in the Constitution
— Ministry of Law and Justice (@MLJ_GoI) November 26, 2022
A day earlier, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Prahlad Joshi, had launched two onlime portals for reading the Preamble and taking a quiz on the Constitution, as part of this year’s celebration of Constitution Day.
Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, @JoshiPralhad launches portals for online reading of the Preamble and Quiz on the Constitution of India in the run-up to the celebration of #ConstitutionDay
Details: https://t.co/gdrKrKiEt3@mpa_india @MLJ_GoI @MIB_India @ddnews_guwahati
— PIB in Assam (@PIB_Guwahati) November 25, 2022
The ministry revamped and updated two digital portals, one for reading the Preamble in English and 22 Indian languages mentioned under the 8th Schedule to the Constitution and another for an online quiz on the Constitution of India.
Officials of several other ministries read the Preamble and organised seminars, webinars, workshops on the occasion.
The Ministry of Development of North East Region organised a slogan writing competition, based on this year’s Constitution Day Theme — “India – the Mother of Democracy”.
While officials of the income tax department also took part in reading the Preamble and reiterated their commitment to upholding the values enshrined in the Constitution, those of Geological Survey of India organised a quiz competition under the aegis of the Ministry of Mines, in addition to reading the Preamble.
To commemorate the #ConstitutionDay2022, Shri Nitin Gupta, Chairman, CBDT led the officers posted in CBDT in reading the Preamble & reiterating their commitment to upholding the values enshrined in the Constitution of India.#SamvidhanDivas#ConstitutionDay pic.twitter.com/IChVLddeXp
— Income Tax India (@IncomeTaxIndia) November 26, 2022
The Railway Ministry also organised online Preamble reading programmes in 23 languages across zones, with participants being awarded certificates for the same.
As part of the #ConstitutionDay celebrations, take part in online portal for reading the Preamble to the Constitution in 23 Languages https://t.co/axJ74Pufzv and get certificates.#SamvidhanDiwas
@RailMinIndia @mpa_india @KirenRijiju @mygovindia @MLJ_GoI pic.twitter.com/jCuH2p0Sla
— North Central Railway (@CPRONCR) November 26, 2022
(Edited by Poulomi Banerjee)
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