Parliament today: Amid govt-Opp face-off, debate on Constitution in LS

New Delhi: The Lok Sabha will begin a two-day debate on Friday to mark 75 years of the Constitution. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to reply to the debate on Saturday.

The Business List of the Lower House mentions, “Discussion on the glorious journey of 75 years of the Constitution of India.”

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will initiate the debate on the Constitution.

The BJP and Congress have issued a three-line whip for all its members to be present in the House on December 13-14.

The discussions will begin soon after the Question Hour, which is also listed in the agenda of the House. As per the Lok Sabha schedule, papers will be laid by seven ministers on various issues related to their departments and various committees will also present their reports.

Both parties held their strategy meetings on Thursday.

As per reports, PM Modi held a strategy meeting, which was attended among others by Home Minister Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh besides BJP chief J.P. Nadda. The Home Minister also held a meeting with senior BJP Ministers.

The opposition Congress met at the party headquarters. Party president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, besides other senior leaders, including K.C. Venugopal and Jairam Ramesh, were in the meeting.

The Winter Session of Parliament, which began on November 25, is likely to end on December 20. The session so far has witnessed a ruckus on various issues, including the Congress’ link with Soros. The debate on the Constitution has been the key demand of the opposition during this session.

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The focus of the debate is expected to be on the significance and evolution of the Constitution since its adoption on November 26, 1949. After the Indian Constituent Assembly formally adopted the Constitution, which came into effect on January 26, 1950, India was established as a sovereign, democratic republic.

The Government of India in 2015 declared November 26 as the Constitution Day (Samvidhan Divas). Since then, the nation has celebrated the Constitution’s adoption annually on this day.