Mallikarjun Kharge cites RSS mouthpiece to attack PM Modi on Constitution

NEW DELHI: Slamming PM Narendra Modi for attacking Congress on Constitution and Ambedkar, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday pointed out that RSS had opposed the Constitution "in writing" in 1950 and burnt effigies of Ambedkar and Nehru in the capital to lodge its protest against the statute.
Congress also accused the PM of losing an opportunity to send out a message of unity to Manipur by refusing to allow Outer Manipur MP Alfred Arthur to speak for a minute ahead of his speech in Lok Sabha on Tuesday.
Congress MPs Gaurav Gogoi and Praniti Shinde told reporters, "The PM resorted to jokes and sarcasm, and old allegations, and degraded the political discourse, but refused to let a Manipur MP speak for a minute, which would have demonstrated sensitivity to the people of the state. This led to the northeast MPs' protest."
Shinde said the PM will not be given free passage in future also, and he will have to give respect to the opposition and show sensitivity, adding that he is responsible for the atrocities in Manipur and cannot escape accountability.
After walking out of Rajya Sabha in protest against the PM's comments and the chair's refusal to give him a chance to clarify on Wednesday, Kharge said on X that in an editorial in Organiser magazine in 1949, RSS gave vent to its ideas regarding Manusmriti, saying "in our Constitution, there is no mention of the unique constitutional developments in ancient Bharat. Manu's laws were written long before Lycurgus of Sparta or Solon of Persia. To this day laws as enunciated in the Manusmriti excite the admiration of the world and elicit spontaneous obedience and conformity. But to our constitutional pundits (read Ambedkar) that means nothing." Kharge added RSS had protested against Ambedkar and Nehru.
In contrast, Kharge said, Ambedkar had lavished praise on Congress for making him chairman of the Constitution drafting committee, "despite more capable persons present in the constituent assembly for the job" and had stated that Congress deserved the credit for the drafting of the Constitution.
"Modi calls us opposed to Constitution and Ambedkar when history says that BJP, Jan Sangh and RSS are born opponents of the Constitution and Ambedkar," Kharge said outside Parliament, flanked by Sonia Gandhi, Sharad Pawar and the entire opposition bloc.
The Congress president said he repeatedly sought permission from the Chair to clarify these facts in Rajya Sabha but was not given a chance, while the PM had himself intervened along with many ministers during Rahul Gandhi's speech in Lok Sabha.