Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Monday defended the First Amendment to the Constitution, questioning the BJP-led Centre's stance on its relevance. Addressing the criticism by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Tharoor said, “If the First Amendment was so bad, why didn’t the BJP use its sweeping majority in its first two terms to abolish it?”
Tharoor explained that the amendment, enacted during the first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's tenure, was driven by critical national concerns and reflected the challenges of the time. “The Amendment was driven by entirely laudable considerations and reflected Sardar Patel's concerns as Home Minister arising from the crises of that time. But the language on press freedom as drafted was far too broad and could easily be misused. It took a series of interpretative judgements by the Supreme Court to affirm the broad principles of freedom of expression in our democracy that today we all uphold,” he said.
Tharoor's statement came after Congress leader Jairam Ramesh gave a detailed historical context of the First Amendment. Ramesh outlined three key reasons for its enactment: to combat communal propaganda during a sensitive period, to safeguard zamindari abolition laws being struck down by the courts, to protect reservations in education and employment for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes that had been rejected by the courts.
Ramesh also noted that a Select Committee, which included leaders like Nehru, Rajagopalachari, and Dr Ambedkar, examined the Bill thoroughly. "Even after the Select Committee tabled its report, Nehru listened to his critics and modified his stance," he said.
The Congress leader highlighted a letter dated July 3, 1950, in which Sardar Patel wrote to Nehru about the necessity of restrictions on freedom of speech, expressing frustration with individuals like Syama Prasad Mookerjee. "This letter reveals that Sardar Patel himself would have supported the First Amendment had he been alive," Ramesh added.
Prime Minister Modi, during his Lok Sabha address, criticised the Nehru-Gandhi family, claiming the First Amendment curbed freedom of expression. PM Modi accused Nehru of limiting press freedoms, Indira Gandhi of imposing the Emergency to undermine the judiciary, and Rajiv Gandhi of amending the Constitution. "The country was turned into a jail, and the judiciary was throttled," Modi remarked.
The First Amendment to the Indian Constitution was made to address challenges arising from judicial interpretations of Article 19(1)(a), which guarantees freedom of speech and expression. The courts had struck down laws intended to curb speech that threatened public order, security, or the interests of the state.
The amendment introduced "reasonable restrictions" under Article 19(2), enabling the state to regulate speech in the interests of public order, the security of the state, friendly relations with foreign states, decency, or morality. This was deemed necessary to prevent misuse of the right to free speech for inciting unrest or undermining governance, while still upholding the democratic principle of freedom of expression.
"The citizen's right to practise any profession or to carry on any occupation, trade or business conferred by article 19(1)(g) is subject to reasonable restrictions which the laws of the State may impose "in the interests of general public"," the amendment statement stated.