Friends, the General Election fever is slowly gripping the nation. The main campaigning plank of all the opposition parties is to anyhow defeat PM Narendra Modi in this election, and for this they are giving statements which are ridiculous. One of the statement issued by the them is that “if a given a chance for 3rd time to Modi, he is going to change the Indian constitution”. As if changing the constitution is a child’s play. Till date BJP and their leaders have always said that they and their party will always abide by the constitution, then why the opposition is creating this doubt in public mind, that Modi will change the constitution. As per the law the Indian Constitution can be amended, and there are certain parliamentary procedures for the same.
- The first type of amendments includes that can be passed by ‘simple majority’ in each house of the Parliament.
- The second type of amendments includes that can be effected by the parliament by a 2/3rd majority in each house.
- The third type of amendments includes those that require, in addition to 2/3rd majority in each house of parliament, and ratification by at least one half of the state legislatures.
With these strict norms, still 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 statue in other democracies must be addressed via constitutional amendment in India. The main purpose of the amendment is always to become more relevant with the times.
As per the details available, there have been 106 amendments of the Constitution of India since it was first enacted in 1950. There were 99 amendments to the constitution before Modi became PM in May 2014, and there were only 7 amendments in last 10 years.
Here are some important amendments to the Indian Constitution by various Governments in power:
1 Amendment No. 7- 1956, Reorganisation of States on linguistic basis and abolition of Class A, B, C and D States, and introduction of Union Territories. Done by government lead by Congress PM Nehru.
2 Amendment No. 9- 1960, Adjustments to Indian territory as a result of agreement with Pakistan. Done by government lead by Congress PM Nehru.
3 Amendment No. 10-1961, Dadra, Nagar and Haveli included in Indian union as a Union Territory on acquisition from Portugal. By PM Nehru lead government.
4 Amendment No. 12-1961, Goa, Daman, and Diu included in Indian union as Union Territory on acquisition from Portugal. By PM Nehru lead govt.
5 Amendment No. 13-1962, The state of Nagaland formed with special protection under Article 771A. By PM Nehru lead government.
6 Amendment No. 14-1962, Pondicherry incorporated into Indian Union after transfer by France. By PM Nehru lead government.
7 Amendment No. 21-1967, Sindhi added as language in the 8th schedule. Done by government lead by Congress PM Indira Gandhi.
8 Amendment No. 26-1971, Privy purse paid to former rulers of princely states abolished. Done by Indira Gandhi lead government.
9 Amendment No. 36-1975, Sikkim included as an Indian state. Done by Indira Gandhi lead government.
10 Amendment No. 42-1976, Fundamental duties prescribed, India became Socialist Secular Republic. Done by Indira Gandhi lead government during Emergency. The most controversial amendment when SECULAR word was added.
11 Amendment No. 44-1978, Right to property deleted from the list of fundamental rights. Done by government lead by Janata Party PM Morarji Desai.
12 Amendment No. 52-1985, Defection to another party after election made illegal. Done by government lead by Congress PM Rajiv Gandhi.
13 Amendment No. 61-1989, Voting age reduced from 21-18. Done by Rajiv Gandhi lead government.
14 Amendment No. 71– 1992, Konkani, Manipuri, and Nepali added as languages in the Eighth schedule. Done by government lead by Congress PM PV Narsimha Rao.
15 Amendment No. 73-1993, Introduction to Panchayati Raj, addition to Part IX to the Constitution. Done by PV Narsimha Rao lead government.
16 Amendment No. 74-1993,Introduction of Municipalities. Done by government lead by PV Narsimha Rao.
17 Amendment No. 86-2002, Free and compulsory education to children between 6 and 14 years. Done by NDA government lead by PM AB Vajpayee.
18 Amendment No. 92-2003, Bodo, Dogri, Santhali, and Maithali added to the list of recognized languages. Done by NDA lead govt. of AB Vajpayee.
19 Amendment No. 8, 23, 45, 62, 79, 95- 1960,1970,1980,1989,2000 and 2010, Extension of reservation of seats for SC/ST and nomination of Anglo-Indian members in Parliament and State Assemblies. By various governments of those years.
20 Amendment No. 96-2011, Substituted Odia for Oriya in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution. Done by UPA 2 govt. led by Congress PM Manmohan Singh.
21 Amendment No. 97-2012, Introduction of Part IXB in the Constitution pertaining to Co-Operative Societies. Done by govt. lead by PM Manmohan Singh.
22 Amendment No. 101- 2016, Introduction of Goods and Service Tax (GST). Done by NDA govt. lead by PM Narendra Modi.
23 Amendment No. 102- 2018, Establishment of National Commission for Backward Classes. Done by NDA govt. lead by PM Narendra Modi.
24 Amendment No. 103-2019, Reservation for economically weaker sections of the society. Done by NDA govt. lead by PM Narendra Modi.
You will see from above, all the governments till date have gone for amendments in the Constitution as per the need of the hour. So, if in the future, any Party lead government feels there is need for an amendment, then the same will be presented for voting in the parliament. The main worry of the opposition is that if Modi government comes back with 2/3rd majority they might amend the earlier Amendment No. 42 of 1976, where Secular word has been added to preamble to the Constitution, during the Emergency by then PM Indira Gandhi.
Waiting for your feedback on this blog.
Anil Malik
Mumbai, India
17th April 2024.