India first is only religion, Constitution only holy book: PM Narendra Modi

New Delhi, Nov 27: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said 'India first' is the only religion and Constitution the only 'holy book' for his government which is committed to working for all sections and religions, a statement that comes in the midst of a raging debate on intolerance, even as he adopted a conciliatory tone towards Opposition.

He ruled out any review of the Constitution and reached out to the Opposition saying the ruling side does not believe in forcing decisions through majority but believes in working through consensus.

Replying to a two-day long debate in the Lok Sabha to commemorate the Constitution Day and the 125th birth anniversary of Dr B R Ambedkar, Modi also rejected the Congress contention that the NDA government was trying to deny credit to or was undermining the role of leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru, to whom he paid rich tributes.

The House later unanimously adopted a resolution hailing the contribution of Ambedkar and other founding fathers of the Constitution.

With his government facing attack on the issue of 'intolerance' during the two-day debate, he asserted that diversity is the strength of India and it needs to be nurtured.

"For the government, the only 'dharma' is 'India first, the only 'dharma granth' (holy book) is the Constitution," the Prime Minister asserted in his 70-minute reply to the debate during which opposition members and questioned his "silence" over the issue.

However, Modi did not specifically refer to any recent incidents arising out of intolerance or nor did he touch on the debate that is raging in the country over it.

Modi's conciliatory tone also came on a day he had invited Congress President Sonia Gandhi and his predecessor Manmohan Singh for tea, in an apparent bid to seek a consensus on issues in Parliament, including passage of the GST bill.

During the debate yesterday, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said secularism is the "most misused" word in Indian politics and sought an end to its abuse.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi hit back at the government saying the ideals of Constitution were under attack now and it was a "joke" that those who had no role in the making of the Constitution were now discussing it and demanding a review.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today utilised the debate in the Rajya Sabha to attack the Congress cited Hitler's actions in Germany in 1930s for the imposition of Emergency in 1975 by "subverting" the Constitution.

The "dictatorship was at its worst" then as even right to life and liberty was suspended, he said.

PTI