Govt Plans Year-long Celebrations of Constitution Day, Joint Sitting of Both Houses of Parliament

New Delhi, Nov 6 (PTI) The government is planning to organise year-long celebrations of the 70th anniversary of the adoption of the Indian Constitution, the Union council of ministers was informed on Wednesday, sources said.

Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba made a presentation in this regard before the council of ministers. During the presentation, the top bureaucrat said the focus of the celebrations would primarily be on the importance of the Constitution and the contribution of India's founding fathers, according to the sources.

Besides, Gauba also gave a presentation on a review of the decisions taken by the new government so far, the sources said.

Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal gave a presentation on India's decision not to join the China-backed mega free-trade agreement -- Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in Bangkok on Monday that India will not join theEP deal as negotiations had failed to address New Delhi's "outstanding issues and concerns".

Meanwhile, the prime minister told the ministers at the council meeting to visit the districts of the newly-created Union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, and not to restrict their visits to Jammu, Srinagar and Leh.

He also told them to review the development works of their respective ministries in these areas.

To mark 70 years of the adoption of Indian Constitution, a joint sitting of both houses of Parliament will be held on November 26. It is likely to be addressed both by President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Modi, according to sources in the Lok Sabha secretariat.

Vice-president M Venkaiah Naidu, who is the Rajya Sabha chairman, and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla will also be present and may make interventions, the sources said.

Besides the members of both houses of Parliament, former presidents and prime ministers too were expected to attend the event, which will be held in the Central Hall of Parliament, they added.

The joint sitting of both houses of Parliament is likely to last for over two hours.

The Constitution was adopted by the Constituent Assembly of India on November 26, 1949 and it became effective and the country's fundamental governing document from January 26, 1950.

An original copy of the Constitution is kept in the Parliament library.

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