Unfortunate that 1st amendment was made to curtail freedom of speech: PM Modi

 PM: Why have wedding ceremonies abroad?

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday greeted the people on the Constitution Day, saying that on this day the Constituent Assembly had passed the Constitution, and it was unfortunate that the first amendment was made to curtail the right to expression and speech.

"This day, November 26, is extremely significant on one more account. It was on this very day in 1949 that the Constituent Assembly had passed and adopted the Constitution of India," he said.

"In 2015, when were celebrating the 125th birth anniversary of BR Ambedkar, then we had thought to celebrate it as Constitution Day and since then we have been celebrating it as the Constitution Day and I greet the people of the country," the Prime Minister said in his 107th episode of monthly broadcast programme of 'Mann Ki Baat'.

Recalling the efforts of the Constitution Committee, the Prime Minister said, "We all know that it took two years eleven months and eighteen days to prepare the Constitution. Sachidanand ji was the oldest member to prepare the Constitution and they studied Constitutions of 60 countries and then the draft for Indian Constitution was prepared. After it was given a final form, there were more than 2,000 amendments and after the Constitution was adopted in 1950 since then over 106 times there have been amendments made in the Constitution."

He further said that it is also encouraging that 15 members of the Committee for Constitution nominated were women. "Hansa Mehta was among them who had raised the voice for women's rights and justice. At that time, India was one of the few countries where women were given the right to vote by the Constitution," he said.

The Prime Minister further said that intelligence, ideas and innovation has become the identity of India's youth. "With the combination of technology their intellectual properties are also growing and this is a big step to enhance the country's capability. You will be pleased to know that there has been a growth of 31 per cent in India's patent applications from India in 2022.”

The Prime Minister also questioned the people of choosing foreign destinations for their weddings and asked if it is necessary.

In his 107th episode of his monthly broadcast programme of 'Mann Ki Baat', the Prime Minister said, "The wedding season as well has commenced now. Some trade organisations estimate that there could be a business of around Rs 5 lakh crore during this wedding season. While shopping for weddings, all of you should give importance to products made in India only."

"If we celebrate these functions among the people here, then the money of the country will remain in the country and many people will get a chance to do something during the marriage functions," he said.

"And yes, since the topic of marriage has come up, one thing has been troubling me for a long time… and if I don't open up my heart's pain to my family members, who else do I do it with? Just ponder… these days a new milieu is being created by some families to go abroad and conduct weddings. Is this at all necessary?

"If we celebrate the festivities of marriages on Indian soil, among the people of India, the country's money will remain in the country. The people of the country will get an opportunity to render some service at your wedding… even poor people will tell their children about that occasion. Can you extrapolate on this mission of ‘Vocal for Local’? Why don't we hold such wedding ceremonies in our own country? It is possible that the kind of system you want may not be there today, but if we organize such events, systems will also develop," the Prime Minister said. (IANS)

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