BJP stalls Parliament on Shivakumar ‘remarks’, Cong says another bid to dodge discussions

On Monday morning, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju led the charge against Shivakumar, with BJP leaders saying they could not remain quiet on an “extremely serious” statement by a person “who is holding a constitutional post”. Rijiju demanded that the Congress sack Shivakumar or the party clarify whether it would indeed change the Constitution to provide reservation to the minority community.

As this triggered noisy protests and repeated adjournments in both the Houses, the Congress pointed to the incongruity of a minister “who is responsible for running the House” himself starting the disruption.

In the Lok Sabha, Rijiju said: “When in 1947, the Muslim League brought a proposal to provide constitutional reservation to Muslims, Sardar Patel and the entire Constituent Assembly rejected reservation on the basis of religion… Today, when senior leaders of the Congress party, sitting in constitutional posts, say that the Constitution will be changed to give reservation to Muslims, this cannot be accepted. If you believe in Babasaheb Ambedkar’s Constitution, then whatever statement your senior leader made… sack him immediately and take away his post. Otherwise, don’t do this drama.”

In the Rajya Sabha, as soon as the proceedings began, Rijiju rose to demand an explanation from Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge regarding the Congress position on reservation for Muslims, and on Shivakumar’s remarks, even as BJP MPs started moving into the aisle. Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar then gave Rijiju the floor to speak about the reason they were agitating.

Rijiju said: “We cannot take this (Shivakumar’s) statement lightly. It is an… assault on the Constitution. I want a clear-cut reply from the Congress president (Mallikarjun Kharge); he should tell the House as well as the people of India why the Congress party wants to change the Constitution.”

Addressing the House, BJP president and Union minister J P Nadda said: “It is unfortunate that the Congress which claims to be the protector of the Constitution has tried to shred it to pieces by talking about reservation on the basis of religion.”

Kharge replied that nobody can change the Constitution, and that his party had in fact undertaken the Bharat Jodo Yatra across the country last year to preserve it. “Nobody can change the Constitution drafted by Babasaheb Ambedkar. Nobody can finish reservations,” Kharge said.

Congress leaders accused the BJP of “misleading” Parliament in a bid to disrupt the proceedings. “They seem to have made up their mind that they don’t want the House to function. It has been many days now, they find some excuse or the other to (create ruckus),” Priyanka Gandhi Vadra told reporters outside, after the Lok Sabha was adjourned for the second time during the day.

Last week, after both Houses were adjourned over a protest by MPs of the DMK and allied parties wearing T-shirts with slogans against delimitation and the three-language policy, the Opposition had accused the government of using a non-existent provision on dress norms to ensure that Parliament did not function.

Congress chief whip Manickam Tagore said: “They (the BJP) wanted to disrupt the proceedings. The minister who has the responsibility to run the House… spoke about an issue which is not taken up in Parliament normally as the so-called remark they talked about was not made by a member of the House.”

Congress general secretary in-charge of communications Jairam Ramesh said: “Today, the BJP came up with a completely fake issue… so that the very serious issue of Justice Yashwant Varma’s conduct does not get discussed.”

However, beyond what happened in Parliament, the Congress worry is that the BJP may use Shivakumar’s alleged remarks to counter it on the Constitution issue. The Congress campaign that a Narendra Modi government with a big majority may “alter the Constitution” is believed to have played a big role in reducing the BJP to below the majority mark in the Lok Sabha elections last year.

BJP sources indicated that the party would keep up the pressure, targeting the Congress on the issue inside and outside Parliament. Within the House, the only concession might be for the passage of the Finance Bill.

Trying to nip the row in the bud, the Congress high command got Shivakumar to issue a clarification, with AICC general secretary in-charge for Karnataka Randeep Surjewala reportedly speaking to him.

Shivakumar told reporters that the BJP was “misquoting” him. “I have been an MLA for 36 years, I have basic common sense. I casually said that there have been so many changes (in the Constitution)… The reservation (for Muslims in government contracts) in Karnataka has been given as per quota for backward classes. I have not said we are going to change the Constitution… We are a national party and know the Constitution. I will move for breach of privilege on this,” Shivakumar said.

Surjewala accused the BJP and government of “forcing adjournments” in both Houses to “divert attention from the recovery of cash from the house of a Delhi High Court judge”.

In a post on X, Rijiju appealed to “Muslim leaders not to allow their community to become a vote bank of the Congress party”. He added, “Muslim League divided India, and all those who (stayed) in India must follow the spirit of secularism. There cannot be reservation on the basis of religion in India.”

BJP MP and national spokesperson Sambit Patra said Shivakumar’s remark had “revealed… the Congress’s true face”. “D K Shivakumar is not an ordinary leader. He is close to the Gandhi family, to Rahul Gandhi.” Drawing a parallel to Partition, he said: “(Jawaharlal) Nehruji partitioned the nation to keep his ambition alive… He divided Maa Bharti into two on the basis of religion… Today, the Gandhi family is doing the same.”

At a hurriedly convened press conference, senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said “truth has the very uncanny habit of appearing and reappearing”. “It’s the Congress’s hidden agenda to change the Constitution for votes,” he said.

Adding that Shivakumar’s remarks were just “the beginning”, Prasad said: “Mr Rahul Gandhi, will you speak up? Will you comment on the comments made by your Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar? Will you clarify that the Congress will not change the Constitution for the appeasement (of Muslims)?”

– With inputs by Asad Rehman