BJP Lives The Constitution, Congress Uses It As A Tool: Rajnath Singh

There have been attempts to black out the role of some in upholding the Constitution, said Union Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday (13 December)n as he began a debate in Lok Sabha on the Indian Constitution.

"There have always been attempts by a particular party to hijack and appropriate the work of Constitution-making. Mr Speaker, all these things related to the history of Constitution Making in India have been hidden from the people," the Defence Minister said.

The Lok Sabha debate is being held to commemorate the adoption of the Indian Constitution on 26 November 1949.

Targeting Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in his speech, the Union Minister said that they keep the Constitution in their pockets while the BJP leaders carry it in their hearts.

"Like the Congress, we have never used the Constitution as a tool to achieve political gains. We have lived the Constitution. We have faced the conspiracies being hatched against the Constitution like a vigilant and true soldier. And have even endured great hardships to protect it," the minister said.

Singh's reference to Veer Savarkar while acknowledging the architects of the Constitution led to strong reactions from the Opposition benches.

In his speech, Singh also highlighted the contributions of Justice H R Khanna, a former Supreme Court judge, whose dissenting verdict during the Emergency of 1976 cost him the position of Chief Justice.

The BJP leader also referred to instances where he said judges had to pay a heavy cost for trying to "limit the powers of a dictatorial government within the constitutional limits."

"In 1973, ignoring all constitutional values, the then Congress government superseded Justice JM Shelat, KS Hegde, and AN Grover and appointed the fourth most senior judge as the Chief Justice of India," he said.

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