NEW DELHI: On the first day of the Budget Session, during Zero Hour on Thursday, Rajya Sabha BJP MP Dr Bhim Singh strongly asserted in the House that India is a Union and not a federation, warning against the increasing use of the term “federation” to describe the country.
Raising the issue in the Rajya Sabha, Dr Singh said the growing practice of referring to India as a federation posed a serious threat to the nation’s constitutional structure, unity and integrity.
Quoting Article 1 of the Constitution, he said, “The Article 1 of the Constitution of India clearly mentions, India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States. From this, it becomes completely clear that India is a Union. But nowadays, the practice of writing India as a federation seems to be gaining ground, which is a dangerous trend.”
He pointed out that some people, knowingly or unknowingly, had begun calling India a quasi-federation and were now directly referring to it as a federation. “Calling the Constitution of India and India a Federation is a dangerous trend,” Dr Singh asserted.
Expressing serious concern, he said the usage was no longer confined to casual conversation but had started appearing in literature, newspapers and public discourse. He noted that even influential individuals and members within Parliament were using the term indiscriminately.
Dr Singh emphasised that describing India or the Constitution of India as a federal structure was constitutionally and historically incorrect. “Doing so could prove fatal for national unity and integrity,” he warned.
Elaborating further, he said that after Independence, the framing of the Constitution of India was discussed extensively and seriously by its founding members.
“Then there came a time during the negotiations of the Congress with the British and the Muslim League, when the proposal of a federal structure with a weak centre was considered with the aim of preventing the Partition of India. But it was rejected, considering it inappropriate in the national interest. Ultimately, it was decided that the Constitution of India would be unitary in nature with a strong centre,” he said.
Dr Singh demanded that the government should immediately take steps to stop the use of describing India or the Constitution as a federal structure, either in speech or in writing.
“It should be finally made clear that the Constitution of India is unitary and not federal,” he urged the House.