Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge
Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: Targeting the Modi government over its 'Samvidhan Hatya Diwas' announcement, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday claimed that the ruling BJP was murdering democracy every day in the past ten years as it snatched away the self-respect of every poor and deprived section of the country.
Opposition parties RJD and Shiv Sena (UBT) also joined the chorus against the government notification on observing June 25 as 'Samvidhan Hatya Diwas' with senior RJD MP Manoj K Jha urging the government to declare January 30 as "Mahatma Gandhi Hatya Diwas" so that one could discuss the ideology followed by the murderer, in a reference to Nathuram Godse who followed Hindutva.
In a lengthy statement on 'X', Kharge said, "BJP-RSS wants to abolish the Constitution and implement 'Manusmriti' so that the rights of Dalits, tribals and backward classes can be attacked. That is why they are insulting Babasaheb Dr Ambedkar by adding the word 'murder' to the sacred word Constitution."
He said Modi did not like talking about the Constitution when a BJP leader urinated on tribals in Madhya Pradesh or when the police forcibly cremates the Dalit daughter of Hathras.
"When every 15 minutes a major crime against Dalits takes place and every day 6 Dalit women are raped…When minorities are subjected to illegal bulldozer justice, in which 1.5 lakh houses are demolished in just 2 years and 7.38 lakh people are rendered homeless…When Manipur is in the grip of violence for the last 13 months and you do not even want to set foot there... then what is it if not murder of the Constitution?" he said.
Kharge also referred to the decision of demonetisation, treatment of migrant workers during Covid-19 pandemic, misuse of central agencies against Opposition leaders, farm laws, suspension of Opposition MPs in Parliament and passing Bills in their absence "like a dictator" and electoral bonds.
Jha said the Constitution has given the BJP a shock treatment in the Lok Sabha elections. "They themselves have damaged the Constitution by misusing ED, CBI etc, by trampling upon rights of people," he said
Shiv Sena (UBT)'s Priyanka said, "will someone tell Home Minister Amit Shah, that emergency was applied on the basis of a constitutional availability of the clause to declare emergency? How ridiculous he sounds by calling it 'Samvidhan Hatya Diwas' when it was the very Constitution which had an emergency clause! It can be excesses of emergency and undermining authority to declare it yes or even the political reason for declaring emergency yes but it definitely cannot be the death of constitutionality."
Senior Congress MP Manickam Tagore said, "we all know that BJP is rattled. This is a diversionary tactic. RSS has trained the BJP for it. We all know they want to divert the people from the real issues, including NEET, Manipur and Agniveer. People will reject such kind of diversionary tactics. People have punished them for this behaviour in the polls, reducing their seats from 303 to 240."
Senior lawyer and former MP Abhishek Singhvi said the decision reflected the "grave and terrifying insecurity", which the current government has with regard to Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Congress.