‘Want to ask BJP, RSS whether they respect Constitution or not’: Kanhaiya Kumar

Kanhaiya Kumar’s comment came amid a debate over vice president Jagdeep Dhankhar’s critical comments on the basic structure doctrine that invited sharp criticism from Congress leaders

Congress leader Kanhaiya Kumar on Monday trained his gun at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) asking whether they respect the Constitution of India, amid a debate over vice president Jagdeep Dhankhar’s critical comments on the basic structure doctrine that invited sharp criticism from Congress leaders.

Kanhaiya Kumar addressed a press conference at Hoshiarpur in Punjab on Monday. (Video grab)

Last week, commenting on the landmark 1973 Kesavananda Bharati case, Dhankhar said, “In 1973, a very incorrect precedent was started in India. In the case of Kesavananda Bharati, the Supreme Court gave the idea of basic structure, that Parliament can amend the Constitution but not its basic structure. With due respect to the judiciary, I cannot subscribe to this.”

Addressing a press conference amid the Congress’ Bharat Jodo Yatra at Hoshiarpur in Punjab on Monday, Kanhaiya Kumar said, “The Constitution is supreme, and it is our party’s duty to respect it. We want to ask the BJP-RSS whether they respect the Constitution or not. To save the Constitution, and to protect the rights of our citizens, is the priority of our party. All of our work are being done under the guidance of the Constitution, and our thinking is oriented to the nation’s Constitution,” he added.

“As members of the Indian National Congress, we are proud that we have struggled against the British to help this country achieve Independence. Step by step, after stumbling and standing, the nation has now come to this stage today. On the basis of the Constitution, a person who used to say that he sold tea has become the Prime Minister of the country,” he said, launching a thinly-veiled jab at Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

There was no immediate reaction from the BJP or the RSS to Kanhaiya Kumar’s comments.

Earlier, senior Congress leaders P Chidambaram and Jairam Ramesh spoke out against Dhankhar’s comments. While Chidambaram warned “Constitution-loving citizens” of the “dangers ahead”, Ramesh termed Dhankhar’s comments as an “extraordinary attack on the judiciary.”

Senior adviser to the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Kanchan Gupta, retorted to Chidambaram in a tweet, saying, “Parliament is empowered to amend the Constitution on behalf of “We, the people of India”. Piety ill-suits a party which has slashed the Constitution. Recall Emergency.”