Consensus More Important Than Majority Rule, Says PM Modi

“Majority and minority comes when all doors are closed, so we should go for a consensus”, the Prime Minister said.

Mr Modi’s remarks came during a debate on the Constitution in the Lok Sabha amidst the raging intolerance controversy, though he avoided any direct reference to the issue in his speech. “For the government, the only dharma is India first, the only “dharma granth” (holy book) is the Constitution”, he said. “They are being deliberately attacked”, she said during the debate on commitment to India’s constitution.

Modi said that all past Prime Ministers and governments deserve credit for the country’s growth and no one can say that past governments did not do anything. And today is 1st Constitution Day Of India. Modi’s speech also set the tone for the meeting he had Friday evening with former prime minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi to resolve the stand-off in Parliament over the Goods and Services Tax Bill.

“The country will run by the Constitution and it should be run only by the Constitution”.

She said whatever was being witnessed over the past few months was “totally against the principles” of the Constitution.

“No one can say that the earlier governments have not done anything for this country”, Modi said, looking at opposition MPs. “Consensus is more important than majority rule…in a democracy, the real strength comes when we all walk on the path towards agreement”, he added.

Singh’s argument that the word secular translates in Hindi not to “Dharam Nirpeksh” or non-religious but “Panth Nirpeksh” or non-sectarian, too has drawn counter-attacks from Congress and other opposition leaders.

The discussion on commitment to India’s constitution was held as part of celebrations of Ambedkar’s 125th birth anniversary. Constitution’s goal is not just to define three organs of the State, but also limit their authority.

The Lok Sabha TV screen grab was no evidence of the PM either catching a nap or concentrating on what Union home Minister Rajnath Singh was saying.

It seems to me that the biggest thing is that Prime Minister has given befitting reply to all those people who for a long time have been trying to malign his image in the context of intolerance. “Noting that India has 12 religions, 122 languages and 1600 dialects and comprises people who are believers in God as well as athiest, he said, “all should get justice”.