Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday, November 26, said that fulfilling fundamental duties should be the first priority of citizens to take the nation to greater heights as it marches ahead towards the centenary of its Independence. Addressing Constitution Day celebrations in the Supreme Court, PM Modi said that the entire world was looking at India, which is witnessing rapid development and economic growth.
Since 2015, November 26 is observed as Constitution Day to commemorate the adoption of the Constitution of India by the Constituent Assembly in 1949. Earlier, the day was observed as Law Day.
The Prime Minister also launched new initiatives under the e-court project, which provides services to litigants, lawyers and the judiciary through information and communication technology enabled courts. The initiatives launched by Prime Minister Modi included 'virtual justice clock', 'JustIS' mobile app 2.0, digital court and 'S3WaaS' websites.
Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, during the event, said that the story of Constitution was not only of legal texts and legal interpretations, but a story of human struggle and sacrifices. “It is a story of undoing injustice against the marginalized sections of our society — the women, the disabled, the Dalits and members belonging to tribes and segments situated in the far flung areas of the country. “It must be remembered that the marginalised communities were the first to plant the seeds of the Constitutional ideas of liberty, equality and fraternity on Indian soil,” he said.
Earlier on Friday, speaking at the Constitution Day celebrations organised by the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), he said that judges are faithful soldiers who implement the Constitution. "Good judging is about being compassionate, good judging is about understanding the problems of people, good judging is about not being judgmental about people whose ways of life you and I may not agree with, including somebody who is in breach of the law," Chandrachud said.
Arunachal Pradesh Governor BD Mishra, on Friday, appealed to the people of the state to perform their fundamental duties as enshrined in the Constitution. “May the true spirit of the Constitution always guide the people towards peace, progress and prosperity of the society, the state and the nation,” Mishra said in a message on the eve of Constitution Day. He also expressed his hope that the occasion, which commemorates the day the Constitution of India was enacted, adopted and given to the people in 1949, further strengthens people's resolve to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution.
In his message to the people, Mishra said the Constitution of India, one of the most exhaustively written constitutions in the world, secures justice, liberty and equality for the people and promotes fraternity amongst the countrymen. "We should, with pride, always remember that all our illustrious forebears who wrote the Constitution had the distinction of being great freedom fighters. They wrote the Constitution in the backdrop of the sacrifices made to get freedom for our country from British rule," he added.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan also took to social media on Constitution Day, “India's Constitution, which encompasses the ideals of our anti-imperialist struggle, is facing a wide array of challenges on this 73rd anniversary of its adoption. It's time to join the fight to fend off such threats and defend its spirit and values on our #ConstitutionDay,” he said.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that the Constitution is the identity of the rights of citizens and the pride of the country's democracy. "Our Constitution is the pride of the country's democracy and it is the identity of the rights of Indians. Heartiest congratulations to all Indians on the occasion of Constitution Day. We will put in all efforts required to make India the number one nation while protecting the country's Constitution and realising Baba Saheb's (Ambedkar) dreams," the chief minister said in a tweet in Hindi.
(With PTI and IANS inputs)