OFFICE OF THE CHIEF MINISTER
Government of NCT of Delhi
Press Release
26 November 2019
Delhi’s ‘Constitution at 70’ Campaign concludes; “Delhi’s Governance model based on Constitution of India” says CM Kejriwal
- Delhi’s highly effective governance model is based on the Constitution of India: CM Arvind Kejriwal
- “Experiential learning is important. Knowledge is not only gained through books, but needs to be imbibed in real-life settings”: CM Kejriwal
- India to attain first position in the world, if our constitution is honestly implemented even for a single day: CM Arvind Kejriwal
- With ‘Constitution at 70 Campaign’, Delhi government pioneered teaching of the constitutional values, and the fundamental rights and duties in its 1024 government schools.
- The Chief Minister also administered the oath of the Preamble to the Constitution of India in the event.
- Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia announced Delhi Government’s decision to include the preamble of the constitution in the textbooks as the first page, irrespective of subjects.
New Delhi: Addressing 15000 school students and teachers in the closing ceremony of Constitution at 70 Campaign held at Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in Delhi on Tuesday, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that Delhi’s highly effective governance model is based on the Constitution of India. Apart from the Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and Chief Secretary, Shri Vijay Kumar Dev IAS also attended the culmination of the campaign that marked 70 years of the Indian constitution.
Education requires to imbibe qualities from the constitution: CM Arvind Kejriwal
CM Arvind Kejriwal said, “I was very happy to see the question answer session conducted just a few minutes back. The students who participated in the session with a lot of confidence and the first student to ask a question is a seventh-grade student. I could not help but reminisce about the time when I was in the seventh grade. If somebody would have told me to get on the stage and address 15000-20000 students on such a special occasion, I do not think I would ever be able to do it. Students displayed so much confidence and brilliance in their questions, and the participation from the students in the audience was so huge which shows that in the last three months you have imbibed the qualities of liberty, equality, and fraternity. This is the true meaning of education. This shows that knowledge is not only gained through books, but it is also important to imbibe in your real-life whatever has been taught to you by your teachers.”
If our constitution is honestly implemented even for a single day, India will become number one in the world: CM Arvind Kejriwal
“Today, we have gathered here to celebrate the 70 years of our constitution. Our constitution has also gotten more matured in 70 years of its existence. But when our constitution was drafted 70 years back by Baba Saheb Ambedkar, we had just attained independence. India is a mix of various religions, cultures, and languages. Sardar Patel was making efforts to bring together a nation with such a huge diversity, and the task of keeping such a diverse nation together was not easy. The whole world had its eyes on India and whether a diverse nation like India can be brought together. The British undermined the Indians while leaving the nation after 200 years, saying that Indians can never unite due to its diversity in religions and cultures. The whole world had the same feeling”, said the Chief Minister.
Today, after 70 years of independence, India is united and is developing at a rapid pace. That has only been possible due to the constitution. Drafting the constitution of such a diverse nation with different cultures, religions, and languages was not simple. Baba Saheb Ambedkar studied and incorporated all the good elements from various constitutions across the globe into our constitution. Reading the constitution always makes me realize, that if our constitution is honestly implemented even for a single day, nobody can stop India from acquiring the first position amongst all other nations of the world,” Chief Minister added.
Delhi’s governance model based on the Constitution of India: CM Arvind Kejriwal
CM Arvind Kejriwal said, “The constitution has been the driving force for us, and the Delhi government has been trying to govern the people of Delhi as per the constitution for the last five years. The results of our governance are visible. The constitution mentions the Right to Equality. The level of education for a student born in an underprivileged family and for a student born in a privileged family was entirely different until now. There was no right to equality. Being people’s Chief Minister, children from both privileged and unprivileged families are equal to me. I cannot and should not differentiate between them. And so, our motive was to provide quality education to the students from underprivileged families. All the students in Delhi will receive the same level of education irrespective of their family background. We fulfilled Baba Saheb Ambedkar’s dream of providing equality to everyone” said the Chief Minister.
“Electricity and water, being the basic necessities for survival, were available to some and not available to others in Delhi. In the last five years, we have worked to provide 24-hour electricity to all the residents of Delhi. Affordable electricity is available to everyone, and free electricity is available to poor people. We have provided equal rights to all the people in Delhi. The Indian Constitution mentions the Right to Life. The conditions of Delhi government hospitals were pitiable, and the people who could not afford expensive treatments went there but did not receive proper treatment. Today, the Delhi government hospitals are at par with private health hospitals. We have given the people the right to life. Until now, a road accident victim was not taken to a hospital by the on-lookers because of an insecurity that they will be questioned by the police or will have to pay for the victim’s treatment. The Delhi government will now bear the expenses of the treatment of a road accident victim in any hospital, government or private. Lives of the people are precious to us, and we have given you all the right to live”, the Chief Minister said.
“The constitution mentions the eradication of poverty, but that cannot be achieved merely by words. We increased the wages of the laborers in Delhi and provided them Rs.15000 per month as a salary for their sustenance. We have tried to eradicate poverty by providing means of sustenance to everybody”, the Chief Minister added
Delhi will set an example of creating better citizens: CM Arvind Kejriwal
CM Arvind Kejriwal said that his government had to face a lot of obstructions because they are not able to implement the constitution in its entirety in Delhi. “If the constitution is implemented properly even for a single day, the nation will achieve excellence in all spheres. In the last five years, we improved the school infrastructure and education in Delhi. The ‘Constitution at 70’ program not only envisages the celebration of 70 years of our constitution but also makes the students realize the importance of what is mentioned in the constitution through real-life experiences. I want to congratulate all the teachers, principals and officials for participating in and organizing this program. The changes that have been brought in the education system in Delhi are setting a brilliant example in the whole nation. I hope that Delhi will also set an example for the whole nation on how to create better citizens out of students,” said the Chief Minister.
In his address, Shri Manish Sisodia – Deputy Chief Minister and Education Minister of Delhi said “We are celebrating the 70th anniversary of that constitution which has been instrumental to redeem millions of people from the shackles of poverty, illiteracy and injustice. As the constitution completes 70 years, Delhi government pioneered teaching of the constitutional values, and the fundamental rights and duties in its 1024 government schools”.
“The values articulated in the preamble of our constitution rightly direct us to live harmoniously and meaningfully with others as a nation. Both rights and duties are two sides of the same coin. While claiming equality as our fundamental right, we need to ensure that the same right is honored while we transact with others. That’s our responsibility too. We don’t simply get equality being part of any caste, region, religion, gender or position, unless we acknowledge and live equality as our responsibility not only a right”, Deputy Chief Minister added.
“In our history, we witnessed worse forms of discrimination and untouchability. People from the lower castes were not allowed to use the roads, public places and utensils that were meant for the upper castes. Now we have eradicated such social evils. There are two reasons: first, our great constitution, and secondly education. Earlier, in our country, education was also an exclusive privilege of people born in higher castes. Now the situation has changed, as the constitution provides fundamental right to equality to every citizen and the right to education in particular. Limitations to access public services and resources due to one’s affinity to a particular religion or caste have been constitutionally removed. Now the individuals are respected for their education and economic capabilities, not for the families they were born. This transformation is due to our proud and powerful constitution”, said Shri Sisodia.
While congratulating the principals and teachers for their tireless efforts to materialize this path-breaking initiative, Shri Manish Sisodia said “In this three month campaign, lakhs of students and thousands of teachers extensively reflected upon the vision behind the principles – liberty, equality and fraternity, beautifully articulated in the preamble of our constitution along with their violations and shortcomings in our times. They also explored the ways to meaningfully live these principles further, as envisioned by the founding fathers of our constitution. The “Constitution at 70 Campaign” is definitely a new beginning that inspires many”.
Shri Sisodia also announced Delhi Government’s decision to include the preamble of the constitution in the textbooks as the first page, irrespective of subjects, so that the children shall be constantly reminded of the constitutional values and inspired to live them. The Chief Minister also administered the oath of the Preamble to the Constitution of India in the event.
