New Delhi (NVI): In a stern message to Pakistan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said that India is fighting terrorism with new policies while paying homage to the victims and martyrs of 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.
Speaking on the 12th anniversary of the Mumbai attack, PM Modi said that India can never forget the wounds of 2008 Pak-sponsored attack as it was the biggest terror strike on Indian soil. The Prime Minister was addressing a conference of presiding officers of legislative bodies marking the celebrations of Constitution Day in Gujarat’s Kevadia via video conferencing.
Addressing the All India Presiding Officers Conference. https://t.co/vwPvZRWMff
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 26, 2020
The PM thanked security forces personnel for foiling attempts like the Mumbai attacks and always standing for the defence of the country. He also paid tributes to police brave hearts who laid down their lives in the attack.
On November 26, 2008, terrorists of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) carried out 12 coordinated attacks lasting four days across Mumbai.
The multiple shooting and bombing claimed the lives of at least 166 people, including six Americans, while more than 300 others were injured. Nine terrorists were also gunned down by the forces.
The Taj Mahal hotel, the Oberoi hotel, the Leopold Cafe, the Nariman (Chabad) House and the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus train station were among some of the locations targeted. Ajmal Kasab, the lone terrorist captured alive, was hanged four years later, in 2012.
On the occasion, Modi said that it is a day to remember the inspiration of Mahatma Gandhi and commitment of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
Referring to the Emergency, the PM said that in 1970’s attempt was made against the dignity of separation of power but answer for that came from the Constitution itself as decorum and separation of power is described in the Constitution itself.
“After the emergency, the system of Checks and Balances kept getting stronger as Legislature, Executive and Judiciary moved ahead learning from the episode. This was possible due to the confidence that the 130 crore Indians have in the three branches of the Government and this confidence has been strengthened with time,” he added.
He also stressed the importance of duties and said that duties should be treated as the source of rights, dignity and self-confidence. “Our Constitution has many features but one very special feature is the importance given to duties. Mahatma Gandhi was very keen about this. He saw a close link between rights & duties. He felt that once we perform our duties, rights will automatically be safeguarded”, the Prime Minister said.
The PM also emphasised the need to spread the values of the Constitution. He said as KYC-Know Your Customer is the key aspect of digital security, KYC- Know Your Constitution can be a big safeguard for the Constitutional safety shield.
He stressed that the language of our laws should be simple and accessible to the common people so that they feel a direct connection with every law. He also said that the process for weeding out the obsolete laws should be simple and suggested that there should be an automatic system of repealing the old laws as we amend them.
The Prime Minister also called discussion for one nation one election. He talked of simultaneous elections at every level- Lok Sabha, Vidhan Sabhas or local panchayat level. Common Voter list can be used for this. Digital innovations in the fields of legislatures should be taken up in real earnest for this.
The PM also suggested holding Student Parliaments guided and conducted by the Presiding officers themselves.
-ARK
