President Ram Nath Kovind attended the commemoration of the 70th Anniversary of adoption of the Constitution of India,being organized by the Indian Parliamentary Group, in the Central Hall of Parliament House today. Yearlong activities planned for the 70th Constitution Day, celebrated on 26 November every year, began today with Preamble readings.

Speaking on the occasion, the President said that the Constitution of India lies at the foundation of the world’s largest democracy.This is the supreme law in the country’s democratic framework and it continuously guides us in our endeavours, he added, saying the Constitution is also the fountainhead of India’s democratic system of governance and the country’s guiding light.

Kovind said that India’s democracy finds its resonance init’s Constitution. To ensure that the Constitution remains relevant over time,the makers of the Constitution also incorporated provisions allowing future generations to make necessary amendments as may be deemed necessary, he observed.

Today is a great opportunity to convey our gratitude to the makers of our Constitution who gave us a system to bring about revolutionary changes peacefully by way of Constitutional amendments, he exhorted.

The President said that the people of our country deserve to be complimented for the value and respect that the Indian Constitution has earned over the last 70 years.

Likewise, the three organs of the Union and State Governments, i.e., the Legislature, the Executive and the Judiciary deserve tobe complimented for the same.

Strengthening the relationship and synergy between the Union and States, our journey towards ‘Co-operative Federalism’ is a living example of the dynamism of our Constitution, Kovind added.

President Kovind said that Mahatma Gandhi, while speaking about rights and duties of people, had said, “The true source of rights is duty. If we all discharge our duties, rights will not be far to seek. If leaving duties unperformed we run after rights, they escape us like  a will-o’-the-wisp.”

Kovind added that by incorporating the provisions relating to Fundamental Duties into the Constitution, Parliament has made it abundantly clear that while being alert about their rights, citizens should also be conscious of their duties.

The President said that rights and duties are two sides of the same coin. The Constitution provides the Fundamental Right to freedom of speech and expression, and it also enjoins upon citizens the duty to safeguard public property and to abjure violence, he observed.

Therefore, we need to perform our duties and thereby create circumstances which would ensure effective protection of rights, Kovind said.