Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh during an interview with PTI, in New Delhi. | Photo Credit: PTI
The BJP government will never change the Constitution or end reservation, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said, accusing the Congress of creating “fear psychosis” and resorting to spreading misinformation for “vote bank” politics.
In an interview, Mr. Singh blasted the Congress for spreading “canards” that the BJP will change the Constitution if it returns to power and especially asserted that there was no question of changing the Preamble of the Constitution.
His assurance that the Preamble of the Constitution will not be changed addresses concerns among critics that the word ‘secular’ to describe India could be removed by the BJP if it retains power.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has been alleging that the BJP will “tear up and throw away” the Constitution if it retains power. Some other Congress functionaries had expressed apprehensions that the BJP may drop the word “secularism” from the Preamble of the Constitution.
“The Congress brought constitutional amendments 80 times. They changed the Preamble during the Emergency,” the Minister said.
“The BJP will never change the Constitution. Constitution makers never imagined that there would be changes in the Preamble. You [Congress] only acted to hurt the core idea of the Constitution,” he said.
“There is no question of changing the Preamble of the Constitution. They changed it and now they are making baseless allegations against us,” he added.
The Preamble to the Constitution of India presents the principles of the Constitution. The 42nd Amendment in 1976 changed the description of India from a “sovereign democratic republic” to a “sovereign, socialist secular democratic republic”.
“They [Congress] are trying to get peoples’ support by instilling fear among the citizens,” Mr. Singh said.
“I would suggest that they should try to get people’s support by creating confidence and not by instilling fear. Electoral campaigns should be based on facts,” the senior BJP leader said.
On Friday, Rahul Gandhi alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the BJP and RSS are attacking India’s democracy continuously and want to “destroy” the country’s Constitution.
On the issue of reservation also, he alleged that the Congress is misleading the nation.
“The Congress is trying to mislead people. There will not be any end to reservation. They are making false allegations against us,” Mr. Singh said.
The Congress has also asked the BJP leaders to clear the party’s stance on whether it would remove the 50% cap on reservation for the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes, and the Other Backward Classes.
“We will not tinker with the reservation at all,” Mr. Singh said when asked about the Congress’s call to clarify on the 50% cap.
Mr. Singh, who has been extensively campaigning across the country, said the BJP does not do politics based on caste, creed and religion as its focus has been on strengthening the nation.
He alleged that the Congress does not promote harmony in society as its approach has been focused on vote bank politics.
Mr. Singh said people of India want Prime Minister Modi to further take the country forward as he has been instrumental in ensuring all-round development and raising the country’s stature at the global level.
