Court noted that though the husband claimed of earning only Rs 50,000 monthly and supporting family members, his father was a retired SDM, and his brother, identified as an upper-middle-class doctor on Facebook.

Starting the debate to mark the Constitution’s 75th anniversary in Rajya Sabha, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman launched an all-out attack on the Congress and accused it of repeatedly trying to undermine the Constitution through amendments.

Targeting the country’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, she referred to the first Constitutional amendment in 1951. “It was essentially to curb the freedom of speech (and expression). India prides itself even today on the freedom of expression. But the first interim government came up with a Constitutional amendment to curb the freedom of speech of Indians. That is because the first Prime Minister of this country deplored press scrutiny of his government even as he publicly praised freedom of press,” she said.

Earlier, during the debate in Lok Sabha, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had slammed Congress for the multiple Constitutional amendments during its rule. 

Ms Sitharaman also referred to the arrest of poet-lyricist Majrooh Sultanpuri and actor Balraj Sahni in 1949. “During one of the meetings organised for mill workers, Majrooh Sultanpuri recited a poem that was written against Jawaharlal Nehru. Therefore, he had to go to jail. He refused to render an apology and was jailed along with Balraj Sahni, an eminent actor of those days. That is the level of tolerance and today we hold the Constitution in our hand and say freedom of speech, there is a sense of fear in our country,” she said, taking a swipe at Congress leader’s Constitution pitch.

The Finance Minister said the Congress government banned a book, Nehru: A Political Biography, by Michael Edwardes and a film, Kissa Kursi Ka, in 1975 “because it questioned Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, her son and also the Information and Broadcasting Minister then”. In 1988, she said, Salman Rushdie’s book The Satanic Verses was banned. “So, this spree of curtailing the freedom of expression, containing freedom of press happened before 1949 and continues after 1951,” she said.

The amendments brought by Congress governments, Ms Sitharaman said, were not aimed at strengthening democracy but to shield those in power.

The Finance Minister said that in the aftermath of the Second World War, over 50 countries became independent and framed their Constitution. But while many of them have changed it completely, India’s Constitution has stood the test of time.

“Today we are extremely proud of the way India’s democracy is growing. Iit is time to reaffirm our commitment to build India, that is Bharat, that shall uphold the spirit enshrined in this sacred document,” she said.

Ms Sitharaman also referred to amendments brought in to nullify an Allahabad High Court judgment in 1975 against Indira Gandhi in an election malpractices case.

“During the pendency of this case in the Supreme Court, the Congress enacted the 39th Constitutional Amendment Act in 1975 which added Article 392 (A) to the Constitution which says that elections to the President, Vice President, Prime Minister and Lok Sabha Speaker cannot be challenged in any court in the country and it can be done only before a parliamentary committee. Imagine that for a person to save her chair, an amendment was made even before the court judgment,” she said.

The Finance Minister also referred to the Shah Bano case during Rajiv Gandhi’s term as Prime Minister. “After the judgment from the Supreme Court in the Shah Bano case, the Congress (government) passed the Muslim Women Protection of Rights on Divorce Act 1986 which denied Muslim women their right to alimony,” she said.

Referring to the imposition of the Emergency in 1975, she said, “The amendments were not about strengthening democracy but protecting those in power.”

In response, Congress chief and Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge said the BJP has never respected the Constitution or the national flag and stressed that there is a danger to the Constitution under this government. Referring to the situation in Bangladesh after Sheikh Hasina’s ouster, he said, “Our brave leader Indira Gandhi divided Pakistan into two parts and liberated Bangladesh… The pride of this country spread across the world. The chaos that is going on there (in Bangladesh), at least these (BJP) people should open their eyes and try to save the minorities there.”

The Congress has claimed that ally Omar Abdullah’s approach to issues concerning the opposition has changed since he became Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir. The dig followed the National Conference leader junking allegations about the manipulation of EVMs or Electronic Voting Machines – raised by the Congress and several opposition parties.

Manickam Tagore, a senior Congress parliamentarian, said the recent allegations about EVMs following the Maharashtra election results were made by the NCP (Sharad Pawar faction), Shiv Sena (UBT), and Samajwadi Party.

“It’s the Samajwadi Party, NCP, and Shiv Sena UBT that have spoken against EVMs. Please check your facts, CM @OmarAbdullah. The Congress CWC resolution clearly addresses the ECI only. Why this approach to our partners after being CM?” asked Mr Tagore.

Read: “Can’t Say You Don’t Like EVMs Because…”: Ally Junks Congress’ Charge

Opposition allegations over the functioning of EVMs had re-emerged recently with veteran politician Sharad Pawar raising doubts over the outcome of the Maharashtra polls. Mr Pawar’s party – split by his nephew Ajit Pawar, who now heads the ‘original’ NCP – suffered its worst defeat in the recent polls.

None of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) partners could win even 10% of the total seats in the elections, which saw the opposition parties allege discrepancies in the voting method.

A resolution by the Congress Working Committee – also shared by Mr Tagore in response to Mr Abdullah – said the poor performance appeared to be a “clear case of targeted manipulation”. It also raised questions over the “partisan functioning” of the Election Commission.

Read: “No Mismatch”: Election Body On Opposition’s Maharashtra Vote Fraud Charge

Asked about the allegations, Omar Abdullah, whose party is part of the INDIA alliance, said that one must be “consistent” in questioning the machines that are used to hold elections across the country.

“When you get a hundred plus members of parliament using the same EVMs, and you celebrate that as sort of a victory for your party, you can’t then a few months later turn around and say… we don’t like these EVMs because now the election results aren’t going the way we would like them to,” Mr Abdullah said.

The NC leader said that political parties that do not trust the voting method should not contest polls.

Mr Abdullah’s party and the Congress had contested the October elections in Jammu and Kashmir together.