The Congress on Friday attacked the Government for trying to “appropriate the icons” of India’s freedom struggle and not acknowledging the contributions of leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru in making of the Constitution. The party also criticised the Government for adopting a selective approach in dealing with cases of terrorism as well as for its reluctance to accept the presence of “secularism’ in the Constitution.
Participating in the debate on commitment to India’s Constitution in the lok Sabha, Congress chief whip Jyotiraditya Scindia referred to Home Minister Rajnath Singh’s speech where he had said the word ‘secular’ was not in the Preamble when the Constitution was adopted but was incorporated through the 42nd amendment in 1976.
“This Government has difficulty with the word secularism and that is why it was highlighted in the debate,” he said. Scindia also lashed out at the Government for allegedly remaining silent over the protests by artists and writers over the “growing intolerance”, saying it had done nothing to remove the alleged fear psychosis of the people.
leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad charged the NDA Government with trying to appropriate the icons of India’s freedom struggle. Azad took a dig at the BJP and said the party did not have such a leader and was trying to “manufacture a clash” between such tall leaders like Nehru, Vallabhbhai Patel and Subhash Chandra Bose. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was present when Azad made these remarks.
The Congress leader also warned the Government against being “selective” in dealing with cases of terrorism and sought action in Samjhauta and Malegaon blast cases and said action should be taken against terrorists regardless of their religious affiliation. Azad said the Government should refrain from going “slow” in some cases and going fast in others.
Questioning the Government’s move to observe November 26 as Constitution Day, Azad said his party need not show its commitment to the Constitution as its leaders sacrificed their lives for India’s Independence. It was a good sign that the ruling combine was now appreciating the Constitution though some of its factions were against the Constitution, he quipped.
Chiding leader of the House Arun Jaitley for ignoring in his speech the contribution of Congress leaders in framing the Constitution, Azad said, “You can talk about German Constitution, its dictator... But you feel ashamed to talk about Nehru... You are not able to recognise the contribution of the first Prime Minister... This is called intolerance. It flows from the top and percolates down to the streets.”
He said Jaitley took pot shots on the Congress by firing from Ambedkar’s shoulder and said the discussion on the Constitution’s framer was actually a “shield to take aim at other targets.”
Azad said Jaitley had referred to Hitler and not acknowledged Nehru, which made it clear that “nazar kahin thi, nishana kahin tha”.
As Azad questioned the procedures adhered to by the Government in celebrating the Constitution Day, Jaitley stood up and asked why there was a “grudging feeling” in acknowledging Ambedkar’s contribution.
Continuing his attack on the Modi Government, Azad said intolerance had increased in the last one and half years and said several incidents had taken place in States like Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Haryana and UP. He also cited instances of atrocities against downtrodden in some States in the last few months.
Scindia pointed when two Dalit children were allegedly burnt alive, a Central Minister gave the analogy of a dog. When someone questioned a Governor for his statement that ‘Hindustan is for Hindus’, he said that ‘Muslims are free to go to either Pakistan or Bangladesh’.
When artists were returning awards, a sitting MP compared them with leT founder Hafiz Saeed and even the president of a political party had said that crackers would be burst in Pakistan if the BJP lost the Bihar elections, virtually describing the people as traitor.
Scindia’s claim that RSS had burnt the effigies of BR Ambedkar when he talked about Hindu code thinking that it was an attack on the Hinduism, invited sharp reaction from ruling party benches.
When Speaker Sumitra Mahajan expressed doubts over what Scindia said about RSS whether it was correct or not, the Congress leader asserted that he was telling historical fact. “Don’t show your intolerance to the historical facts,” he told the ruling party members when they objected.
Scindia said he is a Hindu and was married to a Hindu and that was a complete private issue. But his religion taught him to respect other religions, beliefs and other faiths. Scindia also took a dig at the Government for the way in which the land Acquisition Bill was being brought and cited incidents like those relating to the Ambedkar Periyar IIT study circle in Chennai to take a swipe at the Centre.