Meeting of minds:Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra and Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad at the National Law Day event in New Delhi on Sunday.PTIPTI  

Paying homage to the members of the Constituent Assembly on the occasion of National Law Day on Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the balance of power among the executive, the legislature and the judiciary had been the backbone of the Constitution.

Mr. Modi’s statement came on a day when Union Law and Justice Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the Supreme Court verdict against the National Judicial Appointments Commission had showed the judiciary’s distrust in the ability of the Prime Minister and Law Minister to appoint a fair judge. A day earlier, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had spoken about the importance of the separation of powers among the three branches of the state.

“The government, the judiciary and the bureaucracy are all part of one family. We should strengthen one another. The Supreme Court has itself said that every organ of the state should remain within its allotted space,” Mr. Modi said. “Each organ should do its own duty under the Constitution.”

Founding fathers lauded

In his Mann Ki Baat address to the nation earlier in the day, Mr. Modi commended the founding fathers of the Republic for producing a document that was the spirit of Indian democracy.

“Today is 26/11. The 26th of November is our Constitution Day. The Constitution of India was adopted by the Constituent Assembly on this day in the year 1949. Our Constitution was implemented on the 26th of January 1950, which we celebrate as our Republic Day. The Constitution of India is the spirit of our democracy. This is the day to remember the members of the Constituent Assembly. They all worked hard for about three years to draft the Constitution. And, whoever reads that debate will feel proud about what actually the vision of a life dedicated to the nation is,” he said.

“Can you imagine how hard their task would have been to frame the Constitution of our country which has such big diversities? They must have shown a great sense of understanding and farsightedness and that too at a juncture when the country was getting rid of the bondage of slavery. Now, this is the responsibility of all of us to make a New India in the light of the thinking of the makers of our Constitution.”

The Prime Minister said equality for all and sensitivity towards all was the characteristic of the Constitution.

It guaranteed fundamental rights to all, let they be the underprivileged or oppressed, the backward or deprived, a tribal person or a woman.

“It is our duty that we abide by our Constitution in letter and spirit. Citizens and administrators alike must move ahead in accordance with the spirit of our Constitution,” he said.

He made special mention of the contribution of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.