Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said ‘India first’ is the only religion and Constitution the only ‘holy book’ for his government which is committed to working for all sections and religions, a statement that comes in the midst of a raging debate on intolerance, even as he adopted a conciliatory tone towards Opposition.
He ruled out any review of the Constitution and reached out to the Opposition saying the ruling side does not believe in forcing decisions through majority but believes in working through consensus.
Replying to a two-day long debate in the Lok Sabha to commemorate the Constitution Day and the 125th birth anniversary of Dr B R Ambedkar, Modi also rejected the Congress contention that the NDA government was trying to deny credit to or was undermining the role of leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru, to whom he paid rich tributes.
The House later unanimously adopted a resolution hailing the contribution of Ambedkar and other founding fathers of the Constitution.
With his government facing attack on the issue of ‘intolerance’ during the two-day debate, he asserted that diversity is the strength of India and it needs to be nurtured.
“For the government, the only ‘dharma’ is ‘India first, the only ‘dharma granth’ (holy book) is the Constitution,” the Prime Minister asserted in his 70-minute reply to the debate during which opposition members and questioned his “silence” over the issue.
