Opposition parties in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha slammed the controversial remarks made by Minister of State Ananth Kumar Hegde on secularism and the Constitution. Leading the charge in Rajya Sabha, leader of opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad said that Hegde had no right to continue as a minister in the current government.
This minister who doesn’t believe in the Constitution of India has no right to remain on his post. How can he remain a minister? He has no right to be minister or an MP.Ghulam Nabi Azad, Leader of Opposition, Rajya Sabha
Hegde had courted controversy on 24 December when in a speech, he raised questions on the “parentage of seculars” and claimed that they (BJP) “have been elected to amend the Constitution.”
Seculars don’t have any parentage. They don’t know where they come from. The Constitution has been amended many times. We will also amend it. The Constitution was framed by Ambedkar many years ago. We can’t abide by something that old. We have come to power for that.Ananth Kumar Hegde, MoS, Skill Development
In Lok Sabha, senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge took offence to Hegde’s secularism remark. Quoting the remarks from Hegde, Kharge asked that:
They don’t know themselves. They don’t know their parents. But they call themselves secular. If someone says that I am secular I get suspicion. Does he mean that all of us who have secular thoughts have no idea who our parents are?
BJP defended Hegde’s statement in Lok Sabha. Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Ananth Kumar, alleged that Hegde’s statements are being taken out of context.
We respect and abide by the Constitution created by Dr BR Ambedkar. Hence, it won’t be right to see (Hegde’s) statement out of context. I would request Mallikarjun Kharge and eaders of the Congress party to let us continue with the work in Parliament.Ananth Kumar, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs
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