'Personal view, not ours' says govt on EAC-PM member Debroy's piece on 'new' constitution

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) made it clear that its Chairman Bibek Debroy's recent Op-ed piece on 'new constitution' that appeared in newspaper Live Mint reflects his personal view and not the government's. EAC-PM took to social media platform X to clarify the same. Debroy's opinion piece titled «There's a case for 'we the people' to embrace a new constitution» gathered attention as the EAC Chairman expressed that the Indian constitution is dated and carries colonial legacy while hinting at a 'new constitution'.

«For me, the bedrock is the Constitution. Everything else follows. We no longer possess the one we inherited in 1950,» he opined.

This is 2023, 73 years after 1950. Our current Constitution is largely based on the Government of India Act of 1935. In that sense, it is also a colonial legacy, he added.

Debroy, 68, also took a snap at the governance in the country. Meanwhile, the economist questions the role of various entities involved in the governance. From Supreme Court to the Governor, the role is 'little' as per constitution, he says.

Giving an exhaustive list of instances, Debroy, in his article expressed his opinion on the need for a new constitution. «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,» Debroy wrote. EAC-PM is an independent body constituted to give advice on economic and related issues to Government of India, specifically to Prime Minister.