New Delhi: DMK leader A Raja hit out at the BJP on Saturday, claiming that the ruling party would have changed the Constitution had the words “secular” and “socialist” not been added to the Preamble of the document during Emergency.
Participating in a debate on the Constitution in the Lok Sabha, Raja also dared the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to spell out the contribution of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Hindu Mahasabha to the making of the Constitution.
The former Union minister said democracy alone was assaulted when the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) was imposed during Emergency, but under the BJP-led government, the basic structure of the Constitution, codified by the Supreme Court in the Kesavananda Bharti case, is under attack.
“Democracy alone was assaulted during MISA, but in your regime, entire six elements (spelt out in the Kesavananda Bharati case), namely democracy, secularism, rule of law, equality, federalism, judicial impartiality, everything has gone,” Raja said.
When Union minister Pralhad Joshi pointed out that DMK founder M Karunanidhi was also arrested during Emergency, Raja countered, saying his party does have grievances with the Congress, but is sitting with it to uphold the Constitution.
“We know the pain. Do not teach us lessons. In spite of that we are sitting here. Why? We have been injured, our party has been assaulted, but we think, we believe in the Constitution, nationality and the country is above everything for all of us. That is why we are sitting with the Congress,” Raja said.
The senior DMK leader said the Congress was a “silent spectator” when he and his party colleague, K Kanimozhi, were put in jail in the 2G case.
“When we were arrested, the Congress was in power. We never begged. When we were acquitted, you were in power. We never begged. We stand for what we are,” Raja said.
“I do not think (about) which side we are, but the cause we are standing here (opposition benches) for, that is the problem,” he added.
Certain remarks made by Raja triggered an uproar in the House and were objected to by Joshi and BJP member Nishikant Dubey. BJP member Jagadambika Pal, who was in the chair, said the remarks in question will not be part of parliamentary records.
Telugu Desam Party (TDP) member Lavu Srikrishna Devarayalu slammed the Congress for dividing Andhra Pradesh against the wishes of the people of the state.
“We have been hearing from the opposition that the Constitution is in danger…. I would ask the Congress to look no further than 2013,” Devarayalu said.
He said the Andhra Pradesh Assembly had rejected a proposal to bifurcate the state and yet the Bill was moved in Parliament. He said the members of Parliament from the southern state were whisked out of the House when the Bill was passed.
The TDP leader also recalled that the Congress had dismissed the Andhra Pradesh government headed by Chief Minister N T Rama Rao in 1984.
Devarayalu requested the government to amend the Constitution to hold local bodies’ polls as part of the proposed “one nation, one election” initiative. He also pitched for reframing the “right to education” as the “right to quality education” as students were found lacking in reading and writing skills.
Devarayalu also wanted the government to fix a timeline for governors to grant assent to bills approved by state assemblies.
