Modi government is preparing to bring five constitutional amendments soon. If Parliament approves these amendments, it will be Rajiv Gandhi and P.V. Will break Narasimha Rao’s record. During their tenure, Rajiv Gandhi led 12 and Narasimha Rao led 11 constitutional amendments. In the last 12 years, the Modi government has made eight changes to the Constitution by securing the required two-thirds majority. In April this year, the government had tried to bring three amendments in Parliament, but they could not be passed due to lack of two-thirds majority. However, in terms of the total number of constitutional amendments, the Modi government still lags far behind the governments of Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Most constitutional amendments were made during the tenure of Indira Gandhi.
Why are constitutional amendments made?
Article 368 explains the procedure for amending the Constitution. It allows changes in the Constitution according to changing political and social conditions. However, amending the Constitution requires a two-thirds majority. The government can amend any part of the Constitution except the fundamental rights.
What are the details of the five proposed constitutional amendments?
1. Delimitation Bill: The government wants to bring a constitutional amendment related to the delimitation of Lok Sabha constituencies. An attempt was made in April, but it was not successful.
2. Women’s Reservation: The government wants to implement women’s reservation with the new delimitation process. This proposal includes a provision to reserve 33 percent of the total seats in the Lok Sabha for women.
3. One Nation, One Election: Modi government wants to pass the constitutional amendment bill for “One Nation, One Election”. This will make it possible to hold elections for State Assemblies and Lok Sabha simultaneously across the country.
4. Judicial and constitutional reforms: The government wants to implement constitutional reforms like Uniform Civil Code (UCC) through this amendment. Many states including Uttarakhand have already passed the UCC Bill.
5. Resignation Act: The government wants to bring a rule through constitutional amendment under which the Prime Minister, Chief Ministers or ministers will have to resign within 30 days if they are sent to jail.
How many constitutional amendments were passed under different governments? Between 1952 and 1964, the Constitution was amended 16 times during the government of Jawaharlal Nehru. The Nehru administration imposed reasonable restrictions on freedom of speech through constitutional amendments. In addition, amendments were also made to define the relationship between the state and the Centre.
After Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri became the Prime Minister; A constitutional amendment took place during the tenure of his government. In contrast, Indira Gandhi’s government amended the Constitution the most, 30 times. He initiated amendments to change the fundamental rights.
After the Emergency ended, Morarji Desai became the Prime Minister and two constitutional amendments took place during his tenure. Through these amendments he restored the powers of the judges. Rajiv Gandhi became Prime Minister after Indira and made 12 constitutional amendments; The special thing is that during this process they made laws on political defection.
V.P. Five constitutional amendments were made during Singh’s tenure. After this, P.V. The Narasimha Rao government amended the Constitution 11 times, while the Chandrashekhar government amended it once.
Under the leadership of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the Constitution was amended 14 times. Similarly, six constitutional amendments took place during the tenure of the Manmohan Singh government. The Modi government has implemented eight constitutional amendments so far.
Speaking in Parliament in 2024, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that the Congress party had made more than 70 constitutional amendments during its 55-year rule, while his government had made only 23 amendments in its 16-year tenure.
