Two days after Bibek Debroy, Chairman of, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM), wrote an opinion article in a newspaper calling for a new Constitution, the EAC-PM Thursday distanced itself and the government from his views.
“The recent article by Dr @bibekdebroy was in his personal capacity. In no way do they reflect the views of EAC-PM or the Government of India,” the EAC-PM posted Thursday evening. The EAC-PM is an independent body constituted to give advice on economic and related issues to the Government of India, specifically to the Prime Minister.
A message to Debroy seeking his comments remained unanswered. However, he told the news agency that these were his personal views.
In the August 15 article titled “There’s a case for ‘we the people’ to embrace a new Constitution” in a newspaper, Debroy wrote, “We no longer possess the one we inherited in 1950. It has been amended, not always for the better, though since 1973 we have been told its ‘Basic structure’ cannot be altered, irrespective of what democracy desires through Parliament; whether there is a violation will be interpreted by courts. To the extent I understand it, the 1973 judgment applies to amendments to the existing Constitution, not a fresh one.”
Debroy quoted a study to show that the lifespan of written constitutions is just 17 years. Terming the present Constitution of India as a colonial legacy, he wrote, “Our current Constitution is largely based on the Government of India Act of 1935. In that sense, it is also a colonial legacy.”
“Much of what we debate begins and ends with the Constitution. A few amendments won’t do. We should go back to the drawing board and start from first principles, asking what these words in the Preamble mean now: socialist, secular, democratic, justice, liberty, and equality. We the People have to give ourselves a new Constitution,” he said in the piece.
EAC-PM is an independent body constituted to give advice on economic and related issues to the Government of India, specifically to Prime Minister. Bibek Debroy is the chairman of the Council.
“Much of what we debate begins and ends with the Constitution. A few amendments won’t do. We should go back to the drawing board and start from first principles, asking what these words in the Preamble mean now: socialist, secular, democratic, justice, liberty, and equality. We the People have to give ourselves a new Constitution,” Bibek Debroy wrote.
The online edition of the article published on August 14 too has a disclaimer which read: “These are the author’s personal views. In no way do they reflect the views of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister or Government of India.”
Besides Bibek Debroy, EAC-PM has two full-time members — Sanjeev Sanyal and Shamika Ravi. Its part-time members include Neelkant Mishra, Poonam Gupta, and TT Ram Mohan.
(With inputs from agencies)
