Bengaluru: Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday, February 24, urged people “not to tolerate defamation against the Constitution” and instead bring to power “those who respect the Constitution.”
“It is the responsibility of every government to eradicate inequality in the country. Dr Ambedkar, the chief architect of the Constitution, understood what was needed for the country,” Siddaramaiah said, while speaking at a two-day convention organised by the Karnataka government in Bengaluru to commemorate the 75th year of the adoption of the Constitution of India.
The chief minister underlined that a society with social and economic inequality and political democracy can succeed only when it rests on the foundations of social democracy. “It is the duty of every government to successfully and respectfully follow the articles of the Constitution of India, instead of changing or altering it,” he said.
Siddaramaiah also released a special cover in the presence of the Chief Post Master General, commemorating 75 years of the constitution while Basavaraj Horatti, chairman of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly, lead the audience in the reading of the Preamble at the event.
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“In the last one month, the state government has organised several initiatives that increased citizen awareness of the constitution,” said H.C. Mahadevappa, Karnataka minister of social welfare.
Previously, the state government also organised an awareness jatha (march) in all the districts from January 26 to February 23 with 1,025 special events, covering 5,600 gram panchayats. As per the government, the march featured 50 tableaux, which depicted contents related to the constitution and other connected things specific to the districts.
Speaking at the event, Anant Nath, president of Editors Guild of India, said, “We are fortunate that we have such an elaborate constitution that protects civil liberty and freedom. While we celebrate the Constitution, we need to strengthen (sic) [ensure] that constitutional values are disseminated to the last mile of India’s democracy.”
