Constitution Debate Today: Big NDA vs INDI Face-Off in Lok Sabha, Rajnath Singh to Lead Discussion

New Delhi: As India marks 75 years since the adoption of the Constitution of India in 2024, a rare and historic special two-day debate on the 75th anniversary of adoption of the Constitution is being held in the Parliament, starting today. The landmark debate between the ruling party and the Opposition will be held in the Lok Sabha today and in the Rajya Sabha on the 16th December. The Lok Sabha Constitution Debate will be initiated by the Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. The much-awaited NDA vs INDI faceoff is likely to include discussions on various issues including the Sonia Gandhi-George Soros Link and One Nation One Election. Special strategy meetings have been held by the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Indian National Congress (INC) for the same. 

Constitution Debate Today: Rajnath Singh to Initiate, PM Modi to Conclude Discussions

The Lok Sabha will on Friday begin a two-day debate on the Constitution to mark the beginning of the 75th year of its adoption in the country. As per the listed agenda of the Lok Sabha, there will be a ‘Special discussion on the 75th anniversary of adoption of the Constitution of India’ today. The discussions will begin after the Question Hour, which is also listed in the agenda of the lower house.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will initiate the debate on the Constitution in the Lok Sabha, while Union Home Minister Amit Shah is expected to initiate a similar debate in the Rajya Sabha in the coming week, said government sources.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to reply to the two-day debate on the Constitution in the Lok Sabha on Saturday, sources said.

Big NDA vs INDI Face-Off in the Lok Sabha

All eyes are on this special debate which will be a face-off between the BJP-led NDA government and the Opposition, INDI Alliance. The two-day debate is expected to begin at 12 noon today with over 12 leaders from the BJP expected to take part. Leaders and members of parties in the ruling National Democratic Alliance including HD Kumaraswamy, Srikant Shinde, Shambhavi Chaudhary, Rajkumar Sangwan, Jiten Ram Manjhi, Anupriya Patel and Rajiv Ranjan Singh are also likely to speak during the debate. 

While Rahul Gandhi was likely to start the discussion on the Constitution in the Lok Sabha on behalf of the opposition as LoP, some leaders pointed to a change of strategy and said that Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra may open the debate for the opposition camp which would be her maiden speech in the Lok Sabha. DMK leaders TR Balu and A Raja and Trinamool Congress MPs Kalyan Banerjee and Mohua Moitra are likely to take part in the debate.

There has been no clear specification regarding the topics of the historic Constitution debate as of now, but discussions are likely on the Sonia Gandhi-George Soros Link. Sources said leaders of BJP and its allies are likely to refer to Emergency and speak about the "fake narratives being peddled" by the opposition. The Opposition is likely to bring up the Adani issue and One Nation One Election in the debate. 

Ahead of this landmark debate, both the BJP and the Congress have issued a three-line whip for all its Lok Sabha members to be present in the House on December 13 and 14. “All BJP members in Lok Sabha are hereby informed that the 75th Anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution of India will be taken up in the Lok Sabha on Friday, the 13th of December and Saturday, the 14th of December 2024. All members of the BJP in Lok Sabha are, therefore, requested to be positively present in the House throughout both days i.e. Friday, the 13th of December and Saturday, the 14th of December 2024 and support the government’s stand,” the official statement of the BJP said.

BJP, Congress Held Strategy Meetings Ahead of Constitution Debate

Ahead of the two-day debate, Prime Minister Modi held a strategy meet, which was attended among others by Shah and Singh besides BJP president J P Nadda. Shah earlier held a meeting with senior BJP ministers, including Nadda, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, at his office in Parliament.

The opposition Congress also held a strategy meeting at the party headquarters here which was attended by party president Mallikarjun Kharge and former party chief Rahul Gandhi besides other senior leaders, including K C Venugopal and Jairam Ramesh, to plan for the strategy in Parliament for the upcoming week.

Constitution Day Celebration: 75 Years Since Adoption

The debate on the Constitution has been the key demand of the opposition for the Winter Session of Parliament. According to the agreement with the Opposition, the BJP-led NDA government had agreed to a debate on the Constitution on December 13-14 in the Lok Sabha and on December 16-17 in the Rajya Sabha.

On November 26, 1949, the Indian Constituent Assembly formally adopted the Constitution, which came into effect on January 26, 1950, establishing India as a sovereign, democratic republic. In 2015, the Government of India formally declared November 26 as Constitution Day (Samvidhan Divas) to honour the adoption of the Indian Constitution in 1949. Since then, the nation celebrates the Constitution's adoption each year on this day. 

(Inputs from Agencies)