Oppn likely to boycott joint session on Constitution Day

NEWDELHI: The Congress and some other opposition parties are likely to boycott the joint sitting of Parliament on Tuesday called to commemorate the Constitution Day.

A Congress functionary said apart from his party, the Left parties, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), the Trinamool Congress and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) have planned a joint protest outside the BR Ambedkar statue inside the Parliament House complex against the “installation of an illegitimate government” in Maharashtra.

The government is celebrating ‘Constitution Day’ or ‘Samvidhan Diwas’ on Tuesday in the Central Hall of Parliament to mark the 70th anniversary of adoption of the Constitution by the Constituent Assembly in 1949.

President Ram Nath Kovind,

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the members of both the Houses on the occasion. The President will also inaugurate a digital exhibition through video conferencing.

Since the first Constitution amendment made by the Provisional Parliament in 1951, when the Rajya Sabha was not in existence, the Constitution has been amended 103 times so far.

A Rajya Sabha publication ‘Rajya Sabha : The Journey since 1952’ released by Vice President Shri Venkaiah Naidu, a day before the start of the historic 250th session of the Upper House has chronicled all the amendments. Constitution has been amended 102 times through passage of Amendment Acts by both the Houses since their first sitting held on May 13, 1952 after the first general election in the same year, a statement issued by Rajya

Sabha chairperson M Venkaiah Naidu’s office said.

While the first amendment to the Constitution in 1951 empowered the ‘State’ to undertake affirmative action for the advancement of any socially and economically backward classes or categories of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes by restricting the application of Fundamental Rights, the latest 103 rd amendment in 2019 specifically enabled 10% reservation for the economically weaker sections in educational institutions and in appointments.

Of the total 103 amendments to the Constitution made so far, 32 related to the matters of states, including reorganization, transfer of territories, conferring the status of statehood or union territory, delimitation of constituencies, making special provisions in respect of some states, inclusion of some languages in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.