'Demolition of Babri mosque, Gujarat riots greatest failures of Indian Constitution'

NEW DELHI: Demolition of Babri mosque and Gujarat riots were the greatest failure of Indian Constitution, Trinamool Congress MP Saugata Roy said on Saturday, as opposition leaders from different parties accused the ruling BJP of undermining the Constitution.

Participating in a debate on 75 years of the Constitution of India, Roy also accused the Union government of destroying federalist structure of the country.

"The greatest failure of the Constitution was when Babri mosque was demolished by the 'Hindutva walas.' It was a matter of shame for the whole country," Roy said.

"Another big setback to the Constitution was when Gujarat riots took place under (then) chief minister Modi, that was a matter of shame," he said.

The TMC leader said, "While we are speaking of Savarkar, Modi is today's Savarkar."

He accused the Centre of not giving states their due share, and said the government is "destroying federalism."

DMK leader A Raja hit out at the BJP, claiming that it would have changed the Constitution had the words "secular" and "socialist" not been added to the Preamble of the document during Emergency.

Participating in the debate, Raja also dared the BJP to spell out the contribution of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Hindu Mahasabha to the making of the Constitution.

A Union minister in the UPA government, Raja said democracy came under an assault 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.

"... 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.

Congress MP Kumari Selja said, "It has become a trend to first demolish the Constitution and then attempt to resurrect it."

She said introduction of private and contractual jobs has taken away employment opportunities for Dalits.

"We speak about the rights of Dalits, but today, equal opportunities have been taken away by introducing private and contractual jobs. What kind of equality are you talking about?" she said.

"We demand a caste census because equality will only come when we acknowledge and address the realities... The wealth of the nation should accrue to its people. But today, is it being distributed equally? Without a caste census, who will be the beneficiaries?" she added.

On the ongoing farmers' protest, she said, "You have turned Haryana and Punjab's borders into something resembling India-Pakistan. Farmers are sitting in protest, and they are being removed. You promised MSP (Minimum Support Price), but where is it? Where is the policy you claimed to have made?"

National Conference MP Mian Altaf Ahmad saying that while the Congress apologised for imposing Emergency, the BJP ruling party has been silent on its own actions.

Ahmad also slammed the BJP for bifurcating the state of Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories.

"Congress has apologised for the Emergency but you are silent on various things you have done... Congress toppled elected governments, but you divided our state into two Union Territories, which was unnecessary," he said.

Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation MP Raja Ram Singh, meanwhile, said the idea of economic equality is also enshrined in the Constitution, and there should be a proportional difference in the salary of the President and a peon.

"You want a peon for Rs 5,000 but the CEO gets paid Rs 2.5- 3 crore... Government in encouraging growing economic disparity," he said.

The MP also slammed the BJP for wanting to keep "Gandhi in one pocket, and Savarkar in the other pocket."

"This double standard would not work. BJP is playing with the Constitution, they want to bring communal fascism in this country," he said.

Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) MP NK Premchandran also pointed out the "growing divide" between the rich and the poor, and referred to the directive principles which speak about minimising inequalities.

He accused the BJP government of trying to concentrate wealth and means of production in a few hands.

"The fruit of so-called economic development is not reaching the poor and the marginalised," he said, adding a warning by BR Ambedkar against deepening economic and social inequalities that may destroy the foundation of democracy.

Premchandran also said the secular fabric of the country was under threat.

He said people of the country did not give absolute majority to the BJP because they wanted to protect the secular character of the nation.

AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi expressed his concern over the situation of minorities.

"What Babasaheb said 75 years ago remains absolutely true even today — no one wants the minority to share power," he said.

"Let me explain the measure of success of parliamentary democracy. Articles 25, 26, 29, 30, 14, and 21—these fundamental rights form the foundation. By focusing on these, I will illustrate whether justice has truly been served to the weaker sections of society," he said, citing examples of incidents of harassment against Muslims in the country.