If Constitution Is Amended, It’ll Be End Of Parl Democracy: Chidambaram

On Monday, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram claimed that if the Constitution is amended according to the agenda of the BJP-RSS, it will spell the end of Parliamentary democracy, rights of the minorities, federalism and English being one of the two official languages.

Chidambarm’s remarks came after BJP MP Anantkumar Hegde’s statement that his party needs a two-thirds majority to amend the Constitution.

“The BJP’s intention to amend the Constitution was never a secret. Dozens of BJP leaders in private conversations have said that India must be a Hindu Rashtra, that Hindi must be the sole official language of India and the central government must be strong and prevail over the state governments,” Chidambaram said in a post on X.

The former Union minister said that sometimes, members like Hegde spill the beans and then quickly issue a denial, adding that “this is an old ploy”.

Chidambaram said further that the purpose is achieved and the RSS/BJP cadres are enthused that the BJP continues to nurture the idea of amending the Constitution.

He claimed, “If the Constitution is amended according to the RSS/BJP agenda, that will be the end of Parliamentary democracy, federalism, rights of the Minorities, and the English language being one of the two official languages.”

On Sunday, the BJP dubbed Hegde’s remarks as his “personal opinion” and sought a clarification from him.

“MP Ananthkumar Hegde’s remarks on the Constitution are his personal views and do not reflect the party’s stance. BJP reaffirms our unwavering commitment to uphold the nation’s Constitution and will ask for an explanation from Hegde regarding his comments,” the Karnataka unit of the BJP said in a post on X.

Following the remarks made by Hegde, the Congress accused the BJP and the RSS of having a “hidden and devious” agenda of “re-writing and destroying” the Constitution.

Hegde, while addressing a gathering at Karwar in Karnataka on Saturday, had said that the BJP needs a two-thirds majority in both houses of Parliament to amend the Constitution and “set right the distortions and unnecessary additions made to it by the Congress.”

Hegde is a six-term Lok Sabha MP and former Union minister; he is known for his hardline views and his comments have sparked controversies in the past as well.

As of September 2023, there have been 106 amendments of the Constitution of India since it was first enacted in 1950.

There are three types of amendments to the Constitution of India of which the second and third type of amendments are governed by Article 368.

• The first type of amendments includes that which can be passed by “simple majority” in each house of the Parliament of India.
• The second type of amendments includes that which can be effected by Parliament by a prescribed “special majority” in each house; and
• The third type of amendments includes those that require, in addition to such “special majority” in each house of Parliament, ratification by at least one half of the State Legislatures.

Although constitutional amendments require the support of a two-thirds majority in both houses of Parliament (with some amendments requiring ratification by a majority of state legislatures), the Indian Constitution is the most amended national constitution in the world. The Constitution spells out governmental powers with so much detail that many matters addressed by statute in other democracies must be addressed via constitutional amendment in India. As a result, the Constitution is amended roughly twice a year. The main purpose of the amendments is to become more relevant.