Indian Democracy

Debates over 167 days, 274 members, 36 lakh words -- that's what it took before the Constituent Assembly adopted the world's longest written constitution on this day in 1949. Every Article in the Constitution, which ran into 1.45 lakh words at the time, was debated by members of the Constituent Assembly. They sat for 11 sessions and 167 days over a period of two years, 11 months and 18 days to frame the Constitution. BR Ambedkar, regarded as the chief architect of the Constitution, was assisted by members of the drafting committee he chaired. India's first president Rajendra Prasad was the first person to sign the document 75 years ago. It is the largest written constitution in the world and the first edition was neither printed nor typed -- it was handwritten and calligraphed in both Hindi and English. According to facts available on the Lok Sabha website and analysis of Constituent Assembly debates by the think-tank PRS India, the Constitution's first copy was handwritten by Pre

The AAP has emerged stronger due to its "honesty and love of the people", party supremo Arvind Kejriwal said on the foundation day of the party on Tuesday, asserting the fight to save the Constitution and democracy will continue. In a post on X, the former chief minister said the common man found its strength with the founding the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) 12 years ago. He said the journey so far was filled with the stories of struggle, sacrifice and victory. "In last one year lakhs of attempts were made to finish us but our honesty, love of the people and morale of the workers made us stronger. We stand stronger than before against injustice and dictatorship", Kejriwal said in a post in Hindi. The fight of the AAP to save the Constitution and democracy will go on, he said. He called upon the party leaders and workers to resolve to work for betterment of the country. Senior party leader and Delhi Chief Minister Atishi also greeted party workers on the foundation day of the AAP. In a

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Saturday said a robust and transparent audit system helps strengthen democracy and takes the country on the path of all-round development. Addressing an 'Audit Diwas' event of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) here, he asserted that a strong and transparent audit brings fiscal discipline and monetary prudence which ensures that funds passed by Parliament for various schemes are utilised appropriately. Birla also underlined that to ensure fiscal discipline and transparency in Indian democracy, a senior member of the principal opposition party is conventionally appointed as head of Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC). "This is the strength of Indian democracy," he asserted, noting that the audit report of CAG on public money spent is scrutinised by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) where members from both sides share their views on paragraphs of audit reports. Addressing the gathering, Birla said enhanced transparency in the audit ushe

Every institution can be improved, but it should not lead to the conclusion that there is something fundamentally wrong with it, Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud said here on Saturday while talking about the collegium system. He was speaking during an interaction after delivering the inaugural lecture in a series organized by the Marathi daily 'Loksatta' here. On a question about the collegium system of appointment of Supreme Court and High Court judges, the chief justice said it is a federal system where the responsibility has been given to different levels of governments (both the centre and the states) and the judiciary. "It is a process of consultative dialogue, where consensus emerges, but at times there is no consensus, but that's part of the system. We must have the maturity to understand that this represents the strength of our system," Chandrachud said. "I wish, we will be able to foster a greater consensus, but the point of the matter is, this is dealt with a very .

Elections alone don't make a country a democracy, it becomes one only when the voice of the people is heard, climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, who has been sitting on a fast in Delhi for the last 14 days, said. Wangchuk, who led a padayatra from Leh to Delhi, was detained last month with several of his supporters and later released. Since then, he has been sitting on an indefinite fast at Ladakh Bhawan here with about two dozen of his supporters, demanding a meeting with the country's top leadership. There has been no communication from the government so far regarding any meeting. The activist, who has been subsisting on salt-water solution since October 6, also rued that his supporters were being stopped from meeting him by heavy barricading erected around the building, which got a separate identity after being split from Jammu and Kashmir Bhawan. Frail after days of fasting, Wangchuk spoke softly but minced no words. "As you can see, there are restrictions here (at Ladakh Bhawan

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Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud on Tuesday said there is a misconceived perception that the traditional values of communities of India and Bhutan are antithetical to modern democratic ideas such as liberty, equality and dissent. Speaking at the third convocation ceremony of Jigme Singye Wangchuck School of Law of Bhutan, CJI Chandrachud said both India and Bhutan are home to communities that rely on traditional community-based dispute resolution and governance mechanisms. He said that such mechanisms must not be shunned as traditional and archaic. Instead, they must be supplemented by modern constitutional ideas. "There is often a misconceived perception that the traditional values of our communities are antithetical to modern democratic ideas such as liberty, equality and dissent. However, a dispassionate look at the history of our communities in Asia often yields a different answer," he told the young graduates. Pointing out that in India, the Constitution itself provides

Asserting that 2024 is a watershed year for India's democracy, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday said 140 crore Indians gave a verdict which believed in our long-standing institutions, painstakingly built by the makers of our nation. He also alleged that in the past 10 years, there has been a concerted effort to erode democratic structures, bulldoze institutions and hurt the integrity of our systems. Kharge quoted India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru as saying, "Democracy is the best form of government. It allows people to have a say in how they are governed and to hold their leaders accountable." "The year 2024 is a watershed year for India's Democracy. 140 crore Indians gave a verdict which believed in our long-standing institutions, painstakingly built by the makers of our nation," Kharge said in a reference to the 2024 Lok Sabha poll results. "Now, we have to be far more vigilant to uphold the values of our parliamentary democracy and Constitution and ...

Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi has alleged that democracy in India for the last 10 years was broken, but now it is fighting back. Gandhi made these remarks on Tuesday while talking to reporters at a news conference here at the National Press Club. I can say to you that Indian democracy for the last 10 years was broken. It's fighting back, but it was broken, Gandhi said. I have seen the government of Maharashtra just being taken away from us. I've seen it with my own eyes. I've watched it, as our legislators have been bought in and hooked off and suddenly became BJP legislators. So Indian democracy has been under attack, has been very badly weakened, and now it's fighting back. And I'm confident that it'll fight back, Gandhi said. If you see the election results, does it give you more hope for a democracy in India? he was asked. Yeah, I mean, it does. But it's not good enough to say that the Indian voter is resilient and knowledgeable. Because the Indian voter is informed by a w

The December 13, 2023 Parliament security breach accused wanted to discredit India's democracy, gain instant global fame, usurp power and achieve "richness and glory" by targeting the "very symbol of democracy", according to the chargesheet filed in the court by Delhi Police. The accused first met on social media and planned their move for nearly two years before executing it last year on the anniversary of the 2001 Parliament attack. According to the chargesheet, a source said, their first in-person meeting was held in February, 2022 at Mysuru. Citing from the chargesheet, sources told PTI, that in total they held five meetings in Mysuru, Gurugram and Delhi to decided finalise their plan and arrive at a modus operandi. The chargesheet, spread over 1,000 pages, was filed before the Patiala House Court in June and the court took its cognisance last month. A supplementary was filed in July. The chargesheet mentioned that the group of young people, led by Manoranjan D, a resident of .

Describing India as a leader at the United Nations, General Assembly President Dennis Francis has said the country has been an avid and committed advocate of multilateralism and as a democracy of 1.4 billion people, it has a bright future in making a continued strong contribution to global affairs. The remarks by Francis, the President of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly, came ahead of the end of his year-long tenure on Monday as head of the 193-member UN body. There's no doubt about it - India is definitely a leader at the United Nations. India has been an avid and committed advocate of multilateralism, which is very much valued by the United Nations, Francis told PTI in an exclusive interview here. Former Prime Minister of Cameroon Philemon Yang will take over as President of the 79th Session of the General Assembly on September 10. Francis underlined that he expects India's role to continue and be strengthened. "We know of course that India has an ambition to become

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said people had reposed their unwavering faith in the Constitution and the democratic system of the country by their participation in the 2024 general elections. The prime minister made the remarks in his Mann Ki Baat radio address, the first after the polls. The radio broadcast had had taken a break in February ahead of the general elections. "Today, I thank the countrymen for reposing their unwavering faith in our Constitution and the democratic system of the country," Modi said. He said the 2024 election was the biggest election in the world. "Such a big election has never taken place in any country in the world. More than 65 crore people voted in the election," the prime minister said. He congratulated the Election Commission and every person associated with the election process. During the radio address, the prime minister spoke of initiatives such as 'Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam' launched on the World Environment Day to plant trees. "I am glad

Espousing the importance of implementing Constitutional Morality' in Indian jurisprudence, Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud on Saturday insisted on the commitment of courts to ensure diversity, inclusion and tolerance. Speaking at the inaugural session of the two-day East Zone II Regional Conference of the National Judicial Academy, the CJI also focused on the importance of technological advancements in the justice delivery system. CJI Chandrachud elaborated on the notion of Constitutional Morality' as a restraining factor on the state that should derive from the Preambluar values of the Constitution. Underlining the country's federal structure that's marked by a great deal of diversity, the CJI focused on the role of judges in preserving the diversity of India. I am reticent when people call courts a temple of justice. Because that would mean the judges are deities which they are not. They are instead servers of the people, who deliver justice with compassion and empathy, CJ

Opposition leaders hit back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his "Emergency" remark on Monday, questioning his government's style of functioning and saying that it needs to focus on present issues. Addressing the media in the Parliament complex ahead of the start of the first session of the 18th Lok Sabha, Modi mentioned that the anniversary of the Emergency falls on June 25 and termed it a black spot in India's parliamentary history when the Constitution was discarded and the country turned into a prison. Reacting to the remark, Mahua Moitra of the TMC said the BJP fell short of a majority in the election because the people of the country have realised that it is against the Constitution. "From 303, the BJP is down to 240, they are running a minority government. They kept saying '400-paar' but could not even get a simple majority. "The only reason is that the people of the country have understood that there is BJP on one side and the Constitution on the other. People have chose

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday highlighted the recently-held Lok Sabha elections in his address at an outreach session of the G7 summit here and said the "blessings" that the people of India have given in the form of a historic win in the polls is a "victory of democracy". The prime minister in his speech also shared some figures to underline the mammoth scale of the world's largest democratic exercise in India which was held between April 19 and June 1 in seven phases. Votes were counted on June 4. Modi is in Italy to attend the 50th G7 Summit at the invitation of Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni. He addressed an outreach session on artificial intelligence, energy, Africa, and the Mediterranean, alongside leaders from other countries, including Pope Francis. This is his first foreign visit after being sworn in as the prime minister of India for the third consecutive time after the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance's victory in the general elections. "The blessings

Prominent Indian-American leader Jasdeep Singh Jassee said the recently concluded polls in India have not only highlighted the robust electoral process in the country but also sent a powerful message to the world about the resilience and vibrancy of its democracy. Despite a wave of scepticism from the Western media regarding the integrity of India's democratic processes, the results have decisively dispelled such doubts, Sikhs for America leader Jasdeep Singh Jassee told PTI in an interview. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to take oath for a third consecutive term, a first in over 60 years. Singh, who was in Punjab for two weeks during the general elections, said that the allegations appearing in the west of a compromised Election Commission and malfunctioning voting machines have been proven baseless, underscoring the legitimacy and fairness of the elections in the country. "The people of India, through their votes, have demonstrated that they prioritise the nation's overall .

The US on Tuesday praised India's parliamentary elections as the "largest exercise of democracy in history", while refraining from commenting on the outcomes of the polls. State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller commended the Indian government and its voters for successfully completing the massive electoral process. "On behalf of the United States, we want to commend the government of India and voters there for successfully completing and participating in such a massive electoral undertaking, and we look forward to seeing final results," he stated during his daily news briefing. Miller emphasised the US stance on not commenting on electoral winners and losers worldwide. "I'm also not going to comment on winners and losers in elections as is our case around the world. What is important for us and what we have seen over the past six weeks is the largest exercise of democracy in history, as the Indian people came to the polls," he added. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on Tuesday