11

Mar

Hegde’s Statement : Is BJP Really Committed to Our  Constitution?

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Today’s Edition

New Delhi, 11 March 2024

Atul Cowshish

Not for the first time, five-time MP from Karnataka and a former union minister, Ananth Kumar Hedge of the BJP, has spoken of the need to change the Constitution.  This will require, he said, the BJP to cross the milestone of 400 seats in the Lok Sabha and win majority in 20 state assemblies.

The BJP promptly issued a statement disowning his ‘personal’ views. The swiftness with which the BJP reacted may have been necessitated by the approaching parliamentary polls but let it fool no one. Going by past experience, it will hardly change anything, much less the deep-rooted, convoluted convictions in the saffron family.  

In 2017 too Hegde had spoken of changing the Constitution when he was a union minister and got away by expressing ‘regret’ for expressing his views on the Constitution. The point to note is that he and the BJP believe that their duty ends after issuing a public statement of contradiction. The BJP will be sitting smug after it ‘distanced’ itself from the ominous views of the Karnataka MP.

But he will remain a BJP stalwart whose advocacy of rabid communalism is seen as an ‘asset’ and obviously the saffron party endorses it even though on occasions it may have to take a different stance publicly due to some political compulsion.

The BJP speaking in two tongues is not uncommon. Pragya Thakur, a BJP ‘Sadhvi’ MP from Bhopal, had praised Nathuram Godse who had assassinated Mahatma Gandhi. Narendra Modi, virtually the BJP supremo, said he was very hurt by her statement. But that was the maximum by way of reprimand she suffered. She continued to be a party MP and was inducted into an important parliamentary panel.

The public might have forgotten it but Narendra Modi had once—and only once-denounced the cow vigilantes who indulged in heinous acts. But this was soon after he had become prime minister for the first time. Cow vigilantes continued to grow in subsequent years and Mod’s always choose to be silent.

Perhaps, someone can enlighten us by revealing the number of cow vigilantes—those who killed people in the name of the cow—receiving severe punishment under the law in the last 10 years. The question assumes significance when there have been numerous instances of victims of violence being framed by the police if their perpetrators belonged to the majority community. Obviously, this is done by giving short shrift to the Constitution and the law of the land.  

Some might say that ‘Sadhvi’ Pragya Thakur has been finally ‘punished’ with the denial of party ticket for the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls. Consider, how deep is the Godse cult within the saffron rank? The extent and the belief in the pernicious philosophy of the Sangh Parivar was brought to light shockingly by a Calcutta High Court judge who was admitted into the BJP just after his voluntary retirement. He is likely to be a Lok Sabha candidate from a West Bengal constituency. Asked to comment during a TV interview on his choice between Gandhi and Godse, he said he needed time to think over it! It will appear he needed time to marshal arguments in defence of Godse.

In disassociating itself with Hegde’s remark, the BJP claimed that it had ‘unwavering commitment’ to uphold the existing Constitution. The actions of the ruling party in the last ten years of its rule point in the opposite direction. The BJP under Modi began its innings by vowing to make India ‘Congress-free’ which was actually a code for saying ‘Opposition-free’ as the BJP narratives continue to concentrate on the Congress as its main ‘enemy’. The BJP does not hide its desire to make India a one-party state—again in gross violation of the Constitution. 

In fact, Hedge and many like him in the party have said that the Bhimrao Amdebkar authored Constitution is an impediment to changes they want in the country—making it a Hindu Rashtra where the minorities will be relegated to the status of second class citizens. The storm troopers of the Sangh Parivar threaten the minority businessmen and resent their entry in government services. A Delhi police officer thought nothing of kicking a Muslim offering Namaz, disrespecting the assurance of dignity and equality for all citizens enshrined in the Constitution. 

In one of his earlier statements, Hegde had said that the mosques in Karnataka would be raised because they were built over Hindu temples. This threat continues to loom large even though the ruling party may disclaim it as a credo. Currently, certain mosques in Varanasi and Mathura may see the same fate as the Babri Mosque because the mosques were allegedly built over Hindu temples.  Well, the more radical elements want even the Taj Mahal dismantled because they say it was built over a Shiv temple. 

Recall a display of double-speak by the Sangh Parivar when the chief of the RSS had said that the tendency to look for Hindu temples beneath all mosques must be given up. Yet his followers have shown no sign of doing so. Wonder if he meant what he said or, if he remembers what he said.

The ‘400-plus’ call of the BJP sounds frightening; imagine the consequences that will follow with such a massive majority in the Lok Sabha. With ‘just’ 300+ seats in the lower house of parliament, the BJP has managed to do a lot to devalue democracy and the Constitution. The states which did not vote the BJP find themselves deprived of their right to govern as the BJP, arguably the world’s richest party, effortlessly poaches MLAs of the Opposition parties.

They say that all is fair in love and war; the BJP has altered the adage to ‘all is fair in politics and power hunting’. (Words 980)

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