Jaipur, Apr 3
A BJP leader’s comments on changing the Constitution has given the opposition ammunition against her party, with senior leaders saying it is part of a “deliberate strategy”.
In an address made at Rajashan’s Nagaur on March 30, BJP’s Jyoti Mirdha is heard saying, “Desh ke hit mein kai kathor nirnay karne padhte hain. Unke liye humein samvidhanik badlav karne padhte hain. Agar samvidhan ke andar humein koi badlav karna hota hai toh aap mein se kahin log jaante hain ki uske liye dono jo humare sadan hain, Lok Sabha aur Rajya Sabha, unke andar haami chahiye hoti hai (Several tough decisions need to be taken in the country’s interest and for that we have to make constitutional amendments. If we have to make amendments in the Constitution, many of you would know that we need the nod of both Houses of Parliament, the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha).”
Sharing Mirdha’s video on X, the Congress posted from its official handle, “This is BJP candidate Jyoti Mirdha contesting from Nagaur, Rajasthan. Jyoti Mirdha says that to change the Constitution, we need an overwhelming majority in both the houses. BJP MP Anant Hegde has also said that if we get 400 seats in the Lok Sabha elections, we will change the Constitution. It is clear from these statements that BJP and PM Modi hate the Constitution and democracy. By abolishing the Constitution given by Babasaheb, BJP wants to snatch away the rights of the people.”
“Lok Sabha mein aaj BJP aur NDA ka prachand bahumat hai, us mein koi kami nahi hai, lekin Rajya Sabha mein aaj bhi hamari majority nahi hai. Agar is baar teesri baar NDA ki sarkar aati hai…. (In the Lok Sabha, the BJP and the NDA have a massive mandate, but we still do not have a majority in the Rajya Sabha. If the NDA government returns to power for a third time…),” Mirdha can be heard saying Congress MP Shashi Tharoor too reacted to her comments, saying, “After Anant Hegde let the cat out of the bag, BJP leaders hastily stuffed it back in and dropped him from their candidate list.
Now another BJP candidate openly says the BJP’s aim is to change the Constitution. How many more candidates can the BJP disavow for revealing the truth?”
Quoting Tharoor’s tweet, the party’s General Secretary in-charge communications, Jairam Ramesh, said, “These are all orchestrated by the MahaSutradhar himself. It is deliberate strategy.”
Responding to Tharoor, Mirdha said, “As far as I understand, BJP’s aim is to serve the national and public interest as it gets articulated in the democratic discourse. And if for those purposes the constitution needs to be amended then so be it. Most recently the cat was let out of the bag by the 106th constitutional amendment for Women’s Reservation Bill in September last year for which it seems you lent a reluctant helping hand.”
Rashtriya Loktantrik Party chief Hanuman Beniwal, who has been fielded as an INDIA bloc alliance candidate on this seat, said that “the statement makes it clear that the BJP is bent on finishing Babasaheb’s Constitution”.
This is a reversal of roles for Beniwal and Mirdha: In 2019, Beniwal, as BJP’s ally, had defeated Mirdha, who was fielded as a Congress candidate.
Issuing a clarification, Mirdha said that her “general comment aimed at explaining the process of constitutional amendment was unnecessarily blown out of proportion”.
She said that “since 1950 until last year, there have been 106 amendments made to the constitution… It is imperative to say that our sacred constitution is a living document, amended from time to time considering the welfare of the people and the country”.
Last month, BJP MP and former Union minister Ananthkumar Hegde had said that the party will amend the Constitution after securing a two-thirds majority in the Rajya Sabha. He said the amendments would reverse the “unnecessary things” introduced by the Congress to “subjugate the Hindu community”. Later, he was dropped by the BJP as its candidate from Uttara Kannada.
