In J&K, Constitution fully implemented today: PM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday hailed the milestone of Jammu and Kashmir marking the first ever Constitution Day celebrations since accession to India in 1947.

This was close on the heels of the UT ministers, led by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, taking the oath of allegiance to the Indian Constitution on October 16 this year.

The Prime Minister said the Constitution drafted by Dr BR Ambedkar made it possible to abrogate Article 370 and pave the way for the Constitution of India to be implemented in Jammu and Kashmir.

“Today Babasaheb BR Ambedkar’s Constitution has been fully implemented in Jammu and Kashmir. This became possible because of the Constitution only. Jammu and Kashmir has today observed the Constitution Day for the first time,” Modi said while speaking at an event in the Supreme Court of India to release the Annual Report of Indian Judiciary 2023-24.

The PM spoke as the nation marked the 75th anniversary of the adoption of Indian Constitution by the Constituent Assembly on November 26, 1949.

BJP president JP Nadda also said the Union government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was truly safeguarding the Constitution by taking key decisions.

“Scrapping Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir is a marker of the BJP government safeguarding the Constitution,” Nadda said a day after Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal referred to BR Ambedkar and said he was against Article 370 and had refused to pilot it.

Earlier today, J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha led the Constitution Day celebrations at a large event in the civil secretariat in Srinagar. At the event, the L-G and officials read the Preamble and later Sinha also administered a pledge to those present to uphold the tenets of the Constitution.

As the Valley turned a leaf, Sinha in a post on X said, “Greetings on Constitution Day. Tributes to the makers of our Constitution. On this momentous occasion, I call upon all to uphold the sanctity of the constitution & further strengthen principles of social justice, equality and let’s devote ourselves to peace & progress of the society.”

The celebrations became possible after the abrogation of Article 370 which scrapped special status for J&K. Until the abrogation on August 5, 2019, Jammu and Kashmir had its own constitution and a flag.

With the abrogation of special status, the BJP fulfilled its long standing commitment first espoused by parent organisation Bharatiya Jana Sangh founder Syama Prasad Mookerjee, who framed the slogan: “Ek desh mein do vidhan, do samvidhan, do nishan nahi challenge”.