BENGALURU: “Without amending the Constitution, the BJP-led Union government is doing whatever it wants to do. Father of the Constitution Dr BR Ambedkar feared that it is perfectly possible to pervert the Constitution without changing its form, and his fear has been made true by the ruling BJP,” said former minister BK Chandrashekar.
Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi hit out at India’s first PM Jawaharlal Nehru, accusing him of changing the Constitution.
“What is the strategy of PM Modi and other leaders from the BJP? They talk more about the Indian Constitution than others. They publicly display their reverence for the Indian Constitution. However, all this is bogus and mere optics,” the senior Congress leader said in an interaction with TNIE.
They intend to take control of all democratic institutions of the country. They have a say in the appointment of judges. The police administration is made to work in a partisan manner in the interest of the ruling party. They completely control the CBI and ED and it is well-known now, Chandrashekar said.
By controlling democratic institutions, they need not bring in any amendment to the Constitution but achieve what they intend to without actually amending it, Chandrashekar said.
Former PM Nehru certainly defended and promoted Indian democracy. He used to write letters to the chief ministers of states every month, urging them to limit the use of executive and police powers, and opposed the suppression of freedom of the press, arbitrary arrests etc, he said. PM Modi is belittling Nehru and Congress by trying to portray that they disrespect Dr Ambedkar and the Indian Constitution, he added.
With the help of Hindutva proponents, the BJP is undermining the Constitution and attempting to shake its foundation.
“In his Constituent Assembly speech on November 4, 1948, the architect of the Indian Constitution Ambedkar had expressed the fear that it is perfectly possible to pervert the Constitution, without changing its form, but by merely changing the form of the administration and to make it inconsistent and opposed to the spirit of the Constitution. Ambedkar’s fear has been made true by the BJP,” Chandrashekar said.
When the BJP is stooping so low and belittling the Constitution and a statesman like Nehru, opposition leaders should counter it effectively, he urged.