Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘silence’ on the remarks about ‘amending’ the Constitution by a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) member of parliament.
The prime minister’s ‘silence,’ Kharge said, testifies that he agrees with such comments against the Constitution.
“I feel sad that the BJP has not accepted the Constitution completely. On one side, Prime Minister Modi says that the Constitution will never change, and on the other side, he makes his people say that to change the Constitution, a two-thirds majority will be required. It was not by any fringe element but by an MP,” Kharge said addressing a press conference on March 11.
The Congress leader also alleged that the BJP and its parent organisation, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), were against social justice, secularism, and reservation mentioned in the Constitution. “This is the reason why Prime Minister Modi has been asking for more than 400 seats in the Lok Sabha elections because it wants to change the Constitution,” Kharge said.
Hegde on March 10 said the Indian Constitution needs to be changed ‘to save our religion’ and the only way the BJP can do it is if the party can win over 400 Lok Sabha seats in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
The BJP, however, distanced itself from the controversial remark and dubbed Hegde’s statement as his personal opinion and has even sought clarification.
Also Read: ‘Personal opinion’: BJP distances itself from Anantkumar Hegde’s ‘will change Constitution’ remark
“I am here to ask why is Mr Modi quiet. It is not the first time that an MP or a BJP worker has targeted the Constitution like that. I am sure unless PM Modi agrees with the opinion (of Hegde), he would never let him speak like this. Many people were thrown out of the party for less serious things. What stops him from warning his party leaders and workers against saying anything on the Constitution,” Kharge said.
Earlier in the day, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram said that if the Constitution is amended, as per the BJP-RSS agenda, it will be the end of parliamentary democracy, federalism, rights of the minorities, and English being one of the two official languages.
Also Read: BJP MP Anantkumar Hegde’s ‘will change Constitution’ may cost him Lok Sabha ticket
Hegde had said on March 9 that the BJP needed 400 seats to change the Constitution and ‘save our religion’. “We already have a two-thirds majority in Lok Sabha, and we do not have that in Rajya Sabha to amend the Constitution. 400+ numbers will help us achieve that,” he said.
Hegde’s controversial remark triggered a political row in Karnataka, with the Congress accusing the BJP and RSS of having a “hidden and devious” agenda of “re-writing and destroying” the Constitution.
Kharge also said that NDA’s 400 + target was just a dream and that voters will teach the BJP a lesson in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls on the party leaders’ statement.
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Published: 11 Mar 2024, 05:20 PM IST