The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Saturday reiterated its demand for a public apology from the Congress for imposing the Emergency on the occasion of its 50th anniversary observed recently.
Addressing a press conference at the party’s national headquarters, BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra accused the Congress of trying to mislead the people over the issue despite proof that it had made changes to the Constitution under the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s watch during the period.
He also announced the formation of a four-member fact-finding committee tasked with visiting West Bengal in the aftermath of the rape incident at a law college in Kolkata. The committee, constituted on the instructions of BJP president J P Nadda, includes former Union minister and Mumbai police commissioner Satya Pal Singh, ex-Delhi MP Meenakshi Lekhi, Lok Sabha MP Biplab Deb and Rajya Sabha MP Manan Kumar Mishra.
Citing media reports from the period, related to Indira Gandhi questioning the Constitution, Patra said, “This is the biggest slap in the face of those who accuse us of seeking to change the Constitution. Indira Gandhi-ji had said that her first task (after coming to power) will be to amend the Constitution.”
The BJP has chosen to reiterate its demand of an apology from the Congress, referring to amendments to the Constitution during the Emergency in reply to the Opposition party’s attack after RSS sarkaryavah Dattatreya Hosabale called for a discussion on whether the words ‘socialist’ and ‘secular’, inserted in the Preamble of the Constitution during the Emergency should remain intact.
Union ministers Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Dr Jitendra Singh threw their weight behind the idea on Monday in response to the Congress’s criticism of Hosabale’s remark. The BJP has not commented on the RSS leader’s suggestion.
On Monday, BJP national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi had attacked the Congress for being “behind every act of tampering with the Constitution and its spirit” over the last seven decades, and demanded that it should apologise for the Emergency.
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Referring to another news item stating that she had questioned whether the Constitution was truly serving the people, Patra said these were the requisite answers for those in the Congress who were questioning the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Emergency.
Attacking both the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and its government in West Bengal following the Kolkata law college rape incident, Patra said the state’s condition was painful to consider. “(TMC MP) Kalyan Banerjee says what can we do if a friend rapes another friend… What kind of mentality is this? The Mamata Banerjee government in Bengal believes it has no accountability… The guard room which should be one of protection is where the rape happened. Nothing can be more horrible than this,” he said, announcing the formation of the fact-finding committee.
“There is no doubt that absolutely everyone is pained at what is happening there…Mamata Banerjee should tender both an apology and her resignation. Such treatment of women is simply unacceptable,” he added.
