Bagalkote: Former Chief Minister and MP Basavaraj Bommai said that only when everyone supports Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of a welfare state can India become a developed nation.
He urged people from all communities to support this cause, reject the Congress party for being against the Constitution, and pledge their support for protecting the Constitution.
Speaking at the Constitution Honor and Book Launch event organized by the Citizen for Social Justice organization in Bagalkote on Saturday, the MP said in Indian culture, there is a concept of atonement. Those who commit sins must repent. Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, who faced injustice, documented who wronged him. Back then, it was Congress leaders in power who tried to exclude Ambedkar from the Constitution Drafting Committee. Dr Ambedkar, a unanimously accepted leader of the Dalit community, was targeted because of this. Congress tried to keep him out of the drafting committee. However, Ambedkar succeeded in negotiating with Gandhi on the Poona Pact and ensuring reservation rights for Dalits. Imagine what would have happened if Ambedkar hadn’t been on the drafting committee, he questioned.
The Constitution as an Atonement
The former CM said Congress committed injustice against Ambedkar, which equates to injustice against the Constitution. Today, Congress leaders are carrying the Constitution in hand post the 2024 Lok Sabha elections out of fear that they have lost their SC/ST vote bank. While the PM Modi swore allegiance to the Constitution, Congress has failed to practice its principles in their governance. Their actions now seem like an act of repentance.
He said the Indian democracy is strong today because of the Constitution written by Dr Ambedkar. When Indira Gandhi imposed an Emergency, suspending the Constitution, the people of the country gave her a humiliating defeat. The Supreme Court’s landmark judgment in the Kesavananda Bharati case upheld that the basic structure of the Constitution cannot be altered. Congress has done grave injustice to minorities and SC/ST communities. In the Shah Bano case, when the Supreme Court ruled that divorced Muslim women should receive alimony, then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi initially agreed but later succumbed to pressure from Muslim clerics who threatened to oppose the Supreme Court order. As a result, he overturned the verdict, prioritizing religious sentiments over justice.
Bommai pointed out that Dr Ambedkar resigned from his post because he believed that just as Muslims had a separate law, Hindus too should have one.
The MP also slammed Rahul Gandhi’s call for caste census and said Rahul now speaks of caste census, but M.N. Roy, the ideological mentor of our founding fathers, proposed the Constituent Assembly in 1934, which included many anonymous thinkers who contributed selflessly to the Constitution.
Basava Philosophy in the Constitution
The former CM said the Indian’s land is of Basavanna, home to the world’s first parliament—Anubhava Mantapa. His principles, such as equality, ‘work is worship,’ and ‘compassion is the root of dharma,’ are embedded in the Constitution,” but the Congress misused central power to curtail the powers of states, even dismissing elected governments. ” My father’s government was dismissed by Congress. However, he did not remain silent; he fought for democracy in the Supreme Court and won the case.”
He said Congress has no moral right to invoke Ambedkar’s name. Their talk of the Constitution is akin to a devil quoting scriptures. Jayaprakash Narayan’s call for total revolution was likened to another freedom struggle. Even today, they speak of the Constitution to educate future generations about its importance. The Constitution ensures our freedom, unlike countries like China, which, though economically stronger, lack basic freedoms. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is safeguarding the Constitution, and Congress will face a time of repentance soon. This message must reach every household.
The event was attended by Sri Abhinava Kadisiddheshwara Swamiji of Gulegudd Maradi Math, former Deputy Chief Minister and MP Govind Karjol, MPs P.C. Gaddigoudar, former MLA N. Mahesh, book author Vikas Kumar P., MLA Siddu Savadi, Council Member Hanumant Nirani, and former MLA Veeranna Charantimath, among others.
