The anti-Constitution speech made by Saji Cherian, Minister for Fisheries and Culture, at Mallappalli in Pathanamthitta district on Sunday has upset the entire Harijan community in the country.
An apolitical person like Acharya M K Kunhol, a widely respected social leader in the State came out in the open lambasting Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Minister Cherian, as well as the CPI-M over the speech in which Dr B R Ambedkar and other members of the drafting committee of the Indian Constitution including the first President Dr Rajendra Prasad were humiliated and portrayed very poorly.
Saji Cherian in his speech on Sunday alleged that the persons who drafted the Constitution simply copied down what was dictated by the colonial masters and put it as the Indian Constitution, which could be described as the best means for exploitation. “If you do not know about the Constitution, it is better to keep quiet about it. Neither minister Cherian nor his party, the CPI-M, know the sacredness and serenity of the Constitution. Even EMS Namboodirippadu, the former general secretary of the party had any respect for Dr Ambedkar or the Constitution of India,” Acharya Kunhol, who had been honoured with Padma Shree by the President of India, said in a statement on Wednesday. He also pointe out that the CPI-M was not in existence when Baba Saheb Ambedkar crafted the world’s best Constitution for the country.
The Acharya recounted the number of Harijan youths murdered by the CPI-M in Kerala. “The CPI-M is a party of high caste communal persons. Harijans always get a raw deal in that party,” said the Acharya who pointed out the recent murder of Deepu, a Harijan youth at Kizhakkambalam by the CPI-M activists.
The CPI-M leadership remained tight-lipped over the faux pas committed by the minister even as the demand for his dismissal from the ministry grew louder on the second day. The Congress-led UDF tried in vain to raise the issue in the legislative assembly on Wednesday. But the Punjab-born Speaker M B Rajesh adjourned the House within minutes of the sitting to deny the Opposition any room to embarrass the treasury benches.
“This is unheard of in the history of Kerala Assembly,” said V D Satheeshan, leader of the opposition who led the UDF MLAs in a walk out and staged a demonstration in front of Dr Ambedkar’s statue. “Jai Bheem” and “Jai Ambedkar” slogans were raised in the House as well as the Secretariat premises for the first time by Opposition who wanted the dismissal of the minister for his speech.
Saji Cherian who had said on Tuesday that it was the local slang in his speech that caused the misunderstanding about his speech made yet another U-turn on Wednesday. While speaking to the reporters, he said it was a slip of the tongue and he was sorry for that. “Saji Cherian is trying to save his skin by one excuse or other. The truth is that there is no options before him other than submitting his resignation,” said BJP leader and former Mizoram Governor Kummanam Rajasekharan.