NEW DELHI: Miffed over Union Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Ananth Kumar Hegde’s comment that the BJP was in power to change the Constitution, the Congress asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to clarify the controversial remark.
“Will Prime Minister Narendra Modi break his silence on the remarks by minister of state Ananth Kumar Hegde, who openly said spoke about changing the Constitution,” Congress spokesperson Gaurav Gogoi said at an AICC briefing.
Giving expression to the Congress’ apprehension, Gogoi went on to add that the ruling BJP and its ideological mentor RSS had a secret agenda to alter the Constitution, and slammed the saffron party for paying lip-service to Dalit icon B R Ambedkar, considered to be the main architect of the Constitution.
“It is not a secret that the RSS and BJP’s sole agenda is to change and modify the basic nature and structure of the Constitution and to impose their hate filled, bigoted and prejudiced ideology on India and its people,” said Gogoi. “The recent statements made by the union ministers vindicate those malicious and sinister attempts.”
Noting that “secularism and socialistic values were the Magna Carta of Constitution”, the Congress vowed to defend with all its might “any maleficent attempt to modify it by the BJP-RSS”. Making an addition in the list of clarifications that the party has been seeking from Modi, the Congress said it will protest against the BJP’s “change the Constitution” agenda in Parliament on Wednesday.
Taking a dig at Modi’s drive to clean up politics, the Congress cited induction of BJP leader Bachubhai Khapad, who allegedly has three criminial cases registered against him, as a minister in Gujarat. “One case against Khapad is under the Arms Act. Will Shri Modi take cognizance of this fact and drop him from the Gujarat Cabinet? Is it not yet again an instance, where the BJP is violating the Oath of Office and denigrating Constitution,” Gogoi added.