New Delhi: The opposition on Wednesday (July 3) walked out of the Rajya Sabha during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s reply to the Motion of Thanks to the President’s address, after leader of opposition and Congress MP Mallikarjun Kharge was not allowed to intervene.
Following their walkout, Modi said that the opposition had “insulted” the Upper House and that they were “running away from the truth”, while Rajya Sabha chairman and vice president Jagdeep Dhankhar said that the opposition had “shown their back to the Constitution” by walking out.
The opposition walked out about 45 minutes into Modi’s speech after raising slogans and demanding that Kharge be allowed to intervene on Modi’s remarks on the Constitution.
During his speech, Modi said that it was possible for him to become the Prime Minister because of the Constitution and B.R. Ambedkar.
“I am here because of the Constitution given by Babasaheb Ambedkar. There are many like me who have been able to come here because of the Constitution. The people have also given their mandate for the third time. For us, the Constitution is not a compilation of articles. For us its spirits and words are also valuable,” he said.
Modi said that his government had decided to celebrate Constitution Day on November 26, while some in the opposition had opposed it.
“Now, in every school and college, it is being taught how the Constitution was drafted, what was included and what was left out. We have tried to ensure that the Constitution remains our inspiration. Now, in the 75th year [of the Constitution] we have made it a national event. In every corner of the country, awareness about the values of the Constitution are being spread. The people of the country have given us a mandate for the third time to make a Viksit Bharat,” he said.
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The opposition then started raising slogans, after Kharge sought to make a point of order and intervene in the speech. With Rajya Sabha chairman and vice president Jagdeep Dhankhar ignoring their demands, the opposition started chanting, “LoP ko bolne do (Let the LoP speak)” and “LoP, LoP”.
About 45 minutes into Modi’s speech, with Kharge not being allowed to speak, the opposition – including former BJP ally Biju Janata Dal (BJD) – staged a walkout.
Addressing reporters outside parliament, Kharge said that he wanted to make a point of order on the “lies” being told by the prime minister.
“We walked out because the PM was addressing the House on the President’s address and said some wrong things to the House. It’s his habit to lie and mislead people and speak against the truth. When he was speaking about the Constitution, all we said was that you didn’t make the Constitution, you people were against the Constitution. I was just clarifying [which people] were for and against the Constitution. That is what I wanted to place before him,” said Kharge.
“I wanted to place before him that the RSS mouthpiece Organiser on November 30, 1949 wrote that the worst part of the Indian Constitution is that it does not have anything Indian and does not include anything about ancient India. The laws in Manusmriti have been praised across the world. Who said this? Organiser, RSS and the people of the Jan Sangh said this. They opposed the Constitution and now they are calling us Constitution-virodhi.
“They burnt the effigy of BR Ambedkar and Nehruji. We are saying ‘Save the Constitution’ because what was the intent of the Jan Sangh, BJP and the RSS? They say time and again that we disrespected BR Ambedkar. I wanted to say that drafting committee chairman Babasaheb Ambedkar said that he was shocked when he was chosen as the chairman. It is the discipline of the Congress that every section of the Constitution was implemented. I wanted to say this. I was raising my hand. All INDIA parties wanted the Chairman’s attention. I then requested the prime minister several times. I wanted to expose his lies. I wanted to show what Ambedkar said in his Constituent Assembly speech and what RSS Organiser said,” he added.
Kharge said that the opposition decided to walkout because they were not being heard.
“If our words have no meaning [then] why should we listen? Modi himself got up twice to intervene during Rahul Gandhi’s speech. Four other cabinet ministers also intervened. During my speech, so many ministers intervened. But I couldn’t be given one minute? This is why we condemned and walked out.”
During leader of opposition Rahul Gandhi’s speech in the Lok Sabha on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s address, Modi, in a rare move, himself intervened twice. Five cabinet ministers had also intervened to refute Gandhi on policy claims.
‘Running away from truth’
As the opposition walked out, Modi said that they had left as they were “running away from the truth”.
“The country is watching. Those who spread lies don’t have the courage to listen to the truth. They don’t have the courage to fight the truth, after so much discussion, they don’t have the courage to listen to the answers to their questions. They are insulting the upper house and its traditions. The people of the country have defeated them in every way, now they have no option but to shout in lanes and neighbourhoods. Slogans and leaving the field, this is what they have in their fate,” said Modi.
Dhankhar then said that he was pained to see the opposition insult the Indian Constitution in the Upper House.
“I am pained..The government is in its third term after six decades. I requested the leader of the opposition and allowed him to speak without any interruptions. He has not left the house but traditions. He has not shown his back to me but to India’s Constitution. He has not disrespected you or me, but the oath that he took under the Constitution. There can be no greater insult to India’s Constitution,” he said.
“I condemn their behaviour. The people of the country will be shocked. The government should be heard, once you have been heard. It is an occasion where they challenged the Indian Constitution, outraged the spirit of the Indian Constitution and the oath they took. Such a great insult, a joke on the Constitution. The Constitution is not to keep in your pockets as a book but to live by it. I hope they will reflect on their actions,” he said.
