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An aggressive Opposition took on the government over the Constitution and the legacy of its framer BR Ambedkar on the first day of the winter session on Thursday, setting the stage for a stormy month of Parliament with a slew of reform bills in the pipeline.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi said the basic ideals of the Constitution were in danger and the happenings of the past few months were against its values, a reference to the swirling debate on intolerance in the country, stoked by controversial statements by BJP leaders.
“Those who have no respect for the Constitution and have no role in the making of the Constitution are claiming to be keeping the Constitution,” the Rae Bareli MP said, a possible reference to the BJP that has been accused by the Congress of attempting to usurp Ambedkar’s legacy.
The session began on a heated note, with home minister Rajnath Singh saying the word ‘secular’ was the most misused word in Indian politics.
He went on to say that Ambedkar didn’t find it necessary to insert the word along with ‘socialist’ in the Preamble because he felt it was already in the basic nature of people.
“We know how many problems he (Ambedkar) faced, he must have been hurt, yet (kept) his emotions in control… But he never said I have faced discrimination in India, so I will go somewhere else,” Singh said, hitting out at actor Aamir Khan who revealed this week that his family contemplated moving abroad due to rising intolerance.
Parliament Live: Winter Session begins with debate on Constitution | india | Hindustan Times
Congress president Sonia Gandhi said the basic ideals of the Constitution were in danger and the happenings of the past few months were against its values, a reference to the swirling debate on intolerance in the country, stoked by controversial statements by BJP leaders.
“Those who have no respect for the Constitution and have no role in the making of the Constitution are claiming to be keeping the Constitution,” the Rae Bareli MP said, a possible reference to the BJP that has been accused by the Congress of attempting to usurp Ambedkar’s legacy.
The session began on a heated note, with home minister Rajnath Singh saying the word ‘secular’ was the most misused word in Indian politics.
He went on to say that Ambedkar didn’t find it necessary to insert the word along with ‘socialist’ in the Preamble because he felt it was already in the basic nature of people.
“We know how many problems he (Ambedkar) faced, he must have been hurt, yet (kept) his emotions in control… But he never said I have faced discrimination in India, so I will go somewhere else,” Singh said, hitting out at actor Aamir Khan who revealed this week that his family contemplated moving abroad due to rising intolerance.
Parliament Live: Winter Session begins with debate on Constitution | india | Hindustan Times
