As a new Gandhi enters the House, a look at Nehru-Gandhis’ Parliamentary journey

Here is simply a look astatine the parliamentary stints of immoderate cardinal members of the Nehru-Gandhi household since the play of Jawaharlal Nehru.

Jawaharlal Nehru

Jawaharlal Nehru, the archetypal Prime Minister of India, remained successful bureau continuously implicit aggregate presumption for astir 17 years since Independence — the longest premiership successful India truthful far. Nehru’s contributions to Parliament and the making of a modern India are wide considered to beryllium seminal.

Nehru had moved the Objectives Resolution successful the Constituent Assembly connected December 13, 1946 – from which the Preamble to the Indian Constitution springs. He had besides moved the archetypal amendment successful Parliament to the Constitution connected May 16, 1951, adding “public order” and “friendly relations with overseas states” to Article 19 (2), which contained the restrictions to the state of code and look nether Article 19 (1) (a). The amendment besides added the connection “reasonable” to restrictions, frankincense laying down that immoderate curbs indispensable beryllium reasonable.

Between 1952 and 1957, Nehru besides steered 4 legislations to amend household laws to guarantee sex equality. These were Hindu Marriage Bill, Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Bill, Hindu Minority and Guardianship Bill and Hindu Succession Bill. With these laws, large reforms similar the abolition of polygamy and the proviso of adjacent spot rights to daughters were made.

As the Law Minister, B R Ambedkar had looked astatine reforming household laws, but absorption from wrong the Congress and different parties had delayed the Hindu Code Bill from becoming a law. This had led to Ambedkar’s resignation. Nehru yet saw the betterment done successful Parliament. He, however, besides drew disapproval for not reforming the Muslim idiosyncratic law, leaving it to the community.

Feroze Gandhi

Nehru’s son-in-law Feroze Gandhi, who became an MP successful 1952, was besides a noted parliamentarian. In 1956, helium introduced a backstage member’s Bill that aboriginal became the Parliamentary Proceedings (Protection of Publication) Act 1956. It is owed to the transition of this Bill that the parliamentary proceedings started getting reported.

It was Feroze who brought the Mundhra ungraded to airy erstwhile his father-in-law Nehru was the PM.

On December 16, 1957, helium said successful the Lok Sabha that an concern of Rs 1.25 crore had been made by the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) successful the companies of Haridas Mundhra, an industrialist and banal speculator. In his speech, helium did not combat shy of taking connected his ain party’s authorities led by Nehru. His involution led to the mounting up of the MC Chagla Commission, which indicted the past Finance Minister TT Krishnamachari implicit the row, who had to resign.

Feroze was elected from the Raebareli constituency successful Uttar Pradesh successful 1952 and 1957. He passed distant successful 1960.

Indira Gandhi

Nehru’s girl Indira Gandhi, who besides went connected to go the PM, steered immoderate important laws successful Parliament. Indira’s aboriginal premier ministerial stint saw her putting her value down 2 Bills aimed astatine shifting argumentation towards the left. These included the Bill to nationalise banks and the Bill to abolish privy purses for the erstwhile princely states’ rulers.

Fourteen backstage banks containing 85% of the country’s slope deposits were nationalised done an Ordinance successful 1969. The Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertaking) Bill, 1969, became instrumentality connected August 9, 1969, and replaced the Ordinance. In 1971, the Indira authorities amended the Constitution done the 26th Constitutional Amendment to abolish privy purses for the erstwhile rulers that was a portion of an undertaking to get them to accede to and merge with India.

Earlier, Indira had tried to abolish privy purses successful 1970 done a failed law amendment, and past done a Presidential bid that was struck down by a court. She made their abolition an contented successful the 1971 Lok Sabha elections, and ensured it by amending the Constitution soon aft winning the polls.

Indira past besides started bringing authorities aimed astatine centralising power. In 1971, the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) was passed to springiness the authorities accrued powers to detain a idiosyncratic connected grounds of information of the state, defence of the country, attraction of supplies of indispensable services, etc. It became notorious during the Emergency of 1975-77, brought by Indira, arsenic astir Opposition leaders were jailed nether its provisions. It was repealed by the Janata Party authorities successful 1978.

During the Emergency, Indira was instrumental successful the transition of the Prevention of Publication of Objectionable Matters Act, 1976, which empowered the authorities to prohibit publications connected each the grounds related to Article 19 (2), and to confiscate oregon unopen down printing presses and forfeit information deposit for printing “objectionable matter”.

With the Opposition leaders successful jailhouse during the Emergency, the Indira authorities passed successful Parliament the Constitution (Thirty-eighth Amendment) Act, which barred judicial reappraisal of the Emergency, and the Constitution (Thirty-ninth Amendment) Act, which stipulated that the predetermination of the Prime Minister could not beryllium challenged successful the Supreme Court. The Constitution (Forty-second Amendment) Act made changes to a scope of laws, taking distant the judiciary’s close to perceive predetermination petitions, widening the authorization of the Union to encroach connected State subjects, gave Parliament unbridled powerfulness to amend the Constitution with nary judicial reappraisal possible, and made immoderate instrumentality passed by Parliament to instrumentality immoderate oregon each directive principles of authorities argumentation immune to judicial review. The words “socialist” and “secular” were inserted successful the Preamble during the Emergency. Most of the changes were reversed by the Janata authorities done the 44th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1978.

Sanjay Gandhi

Indira’s lad Sanjay Gandhi was elected to the Lok Sabha from Amethi successful 1980 but died wrong months successful an aerial crash. He had landed successful assorted controversies by becoming an unelected powerfulness centre during the Emergency, imposing household readying targets. He was besides alleged to beryllium down the convulsive demolition thrust undertaken successful Delhi’s Turkman Gate area.

Rajiv Gandhi

Rajiv Gandhi became an MP from Amethi successful 1981 pursuing the decease of his younger member Sanjay. He was re-elected arsenic an MP successful 1984, erstwhile helium besides became the PM aft his parent Indira’s assassination. He continued to beryllium the Amethi MP till helium was assassinated successful 1991.

Rajiv’s archetypal landmark authorities arsenic the PM was the anti-defection instrumentality that helium brought to reverse the “Aaya Ram Gaya Ram” quality of politics. The 52nd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1985 provided for disqualification of a legislator for switching sides unless the enactment divided with astatine slightest 1/3rd of its legislature enactment breaking away, oregon merged with different enactment with the consent of astatine slightest 2/3rd of its MPs. This move, seen arsenic an onslaught connected governmental corruption, earned Rajiv the moniker “Mr Clean”, which the Bofors ungraded would undo wrong years.

Rajiv besides courted contention for his determination to overturn the Supreme Court’s Shah Bano verdict done the parliamentary way nether unit from the Muslim orthodoxy. The apex tribunal had ruled that Shah Bano, a divorced woman, was entitled to alimony from her husband, mounting speech the husband’s plea that arsenic per the Muslim idiosyncratic law, attraction successful the lawsuit was applicable lone for the Iddat period. But nether unit the Rajiv authorities reversed it by passing the Muslim Women (Protection connected Divorce) Act, 1986. This led to his authorities being accused of “minority appeasement” by the BJP and different opponents of the Congress.

Sonia Gandhi

Unlike her precocious hubby Rajiv Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi could not go the PM, but she became the longest serving president of the Congress for implicit 2 decades since 1998. She had a beardown grip implicit the authorities erstwhile the Congress-led UPA came to powerfulness successful 2004 aft six years of the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led NDA governments.

Sonia had been a Lok Sabha MP since 1999 (first from Amethi and aboriginal from Raebareli),and portion she did not articulation the Manmohan Singh Cabinet successful the UPA government, immoderate landmark policies similar MNREGA and RTI were pushed by her successful her relation arsenic the National Advisory Council chairperson. The MNREGA instrumentality guaranteed 100 days of employment to astatine slightest 1 subordinate of each agrarian household successful a fiscal year. The Right to Information Act mandated nationalist authorities to supply accusation sought by an idiosyncratic wrong 30 days of the application. Under the RTI law, a idiosyncratic could besides record an exertion with the appellate authorization if dissatisfied with the RTI reply.

Sonia delivered a uncommon parliamentary code successful 2013 erstwhile she pitched for the National Food Security Bill, calling upon members to acceptable speech ideological differences to enactment the measurement that would provender millions

of underprivileged people. Not the 1 to talk overmuch successful Parliament but ever successful bid of the Congress and its policies, Sonia entered the Rajya Sabha aboriginal this twelvemonth aft being elected from Rajasthan unopposed.

Rahul Gandhi

Sonia’s lad Rahul Gandhi archetypal became the Lok Sabha MP from Amethi successful 2004. In 2008, his code successful the House successful which helium mentioned his gathering with Kalawati, the widow of a husbandman successful Yavatmal who had committed suicide, made waves, drafting barbs from the BJP. Over the years, Rahul gave galore speeches, often championing the origin of the mediocre and farmers.

During a code successful the Lok Sabha successful 2018, Rahul alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi could not look him successful the oculus and that the BJP members hated him but helium had nary hatred towards them. He claimed that the Congress was astir emotion with which it built the state and that helium would bring it retired adjacent from the Treasury benches. After his speech, successful an awkward gesture, helium walked up to PM Modi and hugged him.

In caller years, Rahul’s speeches person go progressively aggressive. He has repeatedly named 2 industrialists, alleging that the authorities makes policies for them. Just earlier the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Rahul began to transportation for a nationalist caste census, repeatedly saying that institutions had been unfair to the SCs, STs and OBCs.

After the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, which saw the Congress emerging arsenic the azygous largest Opposition party, Rahul became the LoP successful the Lok Sabha. In his maiden code arsenic the LoP, helium told the House that Hinduism is astir love. He past pointed towards the Treasury benches and alleged that they are each astir hate, which led to a blowback from the BJP members.

Maneka Gandhi

Maneka Gandhi, the widow of Sanjay Gandhi, discontinue the Congress to articulation the Janata Dal successful 1989, and the BJP successful 2004. She had been an MP for aggregate times from assorted constituencies successful UP. She was a Union curate successful the Vajpayee Cabinet arsenic good arsenic successful the erstwhile Modi government. As a minister, she brought authorities similar the Juvenile Justice Bill and the anti-human trafficking Bill, among others.

Varun Gandhi

Maneka’s lad Varun Gandhi was elected arsenic a BJP MP from UP’s Pilibhit successful 2009, from wherever helium won for consecutive 3 presumption until 2024. As an MP, helium made quality by supporting the Jan Lokpal Bill projected by the question led by societal activistic Anna Hazare. He introduced a backstage member’s Bill, Representation of People (Amendment) Bill, 2016, to springiness voters the close to callback their legislator. The Bill projected that immoderate elector could record a petition to the Speaker signed by astatine slightest 25% of the voters of the constituency for the MP to beryllium recalled.

In August 2017, Varun said successful the Lok Sabha during Zero Hour that MPs should not hike their salaries and that this should beryllium done by an outer statutory body.