Constitution Day: Letter and spirit of Constitution being overshadowed, says Narendra Modi

Constitution Day is being celebrated in the Central Hall of the Parliament and President Ram Nath Kovind, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and others are taking part in an event to mark this day.Addressing this event, Prime Minister Narendra Modi first paid homage to those who died on this day in 2008 during the Mumbai terror attacks. Prime Minister speaking at the event said, "Constitution Day is the day to salute this House, where many of India's leaders brainstormed to give us the Constitution of India. We also pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi and all those who fought during India's independence struggle.”Praising the Constitution and the role it has played in nation building, the prime minister stated, “Our Constitution is not just a collection of many articles, it is the great tradition of millennia. The unbroken stream is the modern expression of that section.”He added, "Constitution Day should have been celebrated each year after 1950 to educate all about what went into the making of the Constitution. But some people did not do so. This day should also be celebrated to evaluate whether what we do is right or not." He also raised a warning that India was heading towards a crisis, which was a concern for those devoted to the Constitution. "Today, the feeling of 'nation first' that is the essence of our Constitution has been diminished by politics. Politics has taken such a priority that our Constitution and its letter and spirit has been overshadowed by it," he said.Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla also addressed the event, wherein he said the Constitution of India is like a modern version of the 'Gita' for us that motivates us to work for the nation."The Constitution of India is like a modern version of 'The Gita' for us that motivates us to work for the nation. If each one of us commits to working for the country then we can build 'Ek Bharat, Shrestha Bharat'," said Speaker Om Birla.Constitution Day is celebrated every year on 26 November to mark the day that the Constituent Assembly adopted the Constitution of India. While 26 January is celebrated as Republic Day, since 2015, 26 November has been observed as the Constitution Day of India, or Samvidhan Divas.Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted on Twitter to mark the day.Meanwhile, several opposition parties, including the Congress, the Left parties, Trinamool Congress, Rashtriya Janata Dal, Shiv Sena, National Congress Party and Samajwadi Party boycotted the function in the Central Hall of Parliament.Reacting to the boycott, Union minister Arjun Ram Meghwal was quoted as saying by Indian Express: "Congress and 14 Opposition parties boycotting the Constitution Day celebrations in Parliament is disrespect to the Constitution of India. This proves that Congress can only respect leaders from the Nehru family and no other leader including BR Ambedkar."With inputs from agenciesRead all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.