Supreme Court judge Justice BR Gavai said on Monday that the country has a Prime Minister who comes from a humble background and backward class and proudly says that he reached his position because of the Constitution. .“The country is having a prime minister, who comes from a humble background belonging to Backward Classes and who takes pride in saying that it is because of the Constitution of India, that he could be the Prime Minister of India,” Justice Gavai said. He also credited the Constitution for his rise to becoming a judge of the top court. “Speaking for myself, I was fortunate to have been born to a father who worked with Dr. Ambedkar and served as one of the soldiers in the fight for social and economic justice. I am here only because of Dr. Ambedkar and the Constitution of India,” he said. .Justice Gavai was delivering the Dr Ambedkar First Memorial Lecture organised by the government in Delhi on the occasion of Ambedkar Jayanti. The topic of the lecture was, 'Dr Ambedkar's Contribution in Constitution and Nation Building'. .He highlighted that Dr. Ambedkar stood for a united India and above the personal lines of caste and ideology.“Dr. Ambedkar, as I already said, was always for a united India and the interest of the nation to be above all interest, be it the interest of the individuals, be it the interest of any caste, be it the interest of any ideology.”The apex court judge noted that Ambedkar’s initial entry into the Constituent Assembly was only to protect the interests of Scheduled Castes, the oppressed, and the downtrodden, but he drafted a Constitution which has stood the test of time for over 75 years. “And we find that, in the last 75 years, the country which was ridden earlier with caste, creed, religion, we have witnessed this country giving two Presidents who belonged to Scheduled Castes, viz, Shri K.R. Narayanan and Shri Ram Nath Kovind. The country has given us two women Presidents, the first one being Smt. Pratibha Patil and the second one being Smt. Draupadi Murmu, who also has been the first Scheduled Tribe president. The country has given two speakers who belong to the scheduled castes, Mr. Balyogi and Ms. Meira Kumar. It has also given two women speakers, again Smt. Meira Kumar, and Smt. Sumitra Mahajan.”On Kesavananda Bharati judgement, Justice Gavai said it must be celebrated for not only providing the basic structure doctrine but also giving due importance to the directive principles of state policy. “Many enactments have been upheld though they were found to be inconsistent with fundamental rights,” he said.
