PM council distances itself from Bibek Debroy's article on new Constitution

In his August 15 article, Bibek Debroy wrote, 'We the People have to give ourselves a new Constitution'

The Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council (EAC-PM) has clarified that the views expressed by its chairman, Bibek Debroy, on the Constitution in a recent article do not reflect the views of the council or the Centre.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the council posted, "The recent article by Dr @bibekdebroy was in his personal capacity. In no way do they reflect the views of EAC-PM or the Government of India."

Bibek Debroy article on new Constitution

In his August 15 article, Debroy wrote, "Our current Constitution is largely based on the Government of India Act of 1935. In that sense, it is also a colonial legacy. In 2002, there was a report by a commission set up to review the working of the Constitution, but it was a half-hearted effort."

"As with many aspects of law reform, a tweak here and another there won't do. We should start with first principles, as in the Constituent Assembly debates. What Constitution does India need for 2047?" he said.

"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," the article further read.

Bibek Debroy article: Congress warns people

The article was also criticised by the Congress party on Tuesday. The party's general secretary Jairam Ramesh said that Debroy has "sounded the bugle for junking the Constitution", whose prime architect was B R Ambedkar, and "warned" people about it.

"This has always been the agenda of the Sangh Parivar. Be warned, India!" Ramesh said on X, citing Debroy's remarks in an article.

"On this 77th Independence Day, the chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to the PM has sounded the bugle for junking the Constitution of which Dr Ambedkar was a prime architect. He wants the country to embrace a brand new one," the post read.

Bibek Debroy clarifies

Speaking to news agency ANI later, Debroy clarified that the views were his and not that of the council.

"The first thing is that whenever one writes a column, every column always carries the caveat that this column reflects the author's personal views. It does not reflect the views of the organisation that the individual is associated with. This is the standard practice for all columns and all columns that I write, carry this caveat," he said.

Debroy shared that it is unfortunate that people have ascribed his personal views to that of the EAC-PM. He clarified that whenever the EAC-PM comes out with its views in the public domain, it uploads them on its website and tweets them from its handle.

He also said that this is not the first time that he has written about this issue.

What is EAC-PM?

EAC-PM is an independent body constituted to give advice on economic and related issues to the Centre, specifically to the Prime Minister.

Besides Debroy, the EAC-PM includes two full members — Sanyal and Shamika Ravi — and five part-time members — Rakesh Mohan, Sajjid Chinoy, Neelkant Mishra, Poonam Gupta, Nilesh Shah, and TT Ram Mohan.