Modi government distances itself from Hegde's remarks
New Delh: The Narendra Modi government on Wednesday distanced itself from the remarks of Minister of State Anant Kumar Hegde who had criticised the word "secular" and said the BJP government would "amend the Constitution" to remove the word from the Preamble.
As a combined opposition in the Rajya Sabha protested against Hegde's remarks, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Vijay Goel told the House: "We are committed to the Constitution. We do not agree with the Minister's remarks."
Minister of State for Skill Development Hegde had on Sunday said at a public event in Karnataka that the Modi government would remove the word "Secular" from the Preamble of the Constitution.
"Seculars do not know what their blood is. Yes Constitution has given that right to say 'we are secular'.... but Constitution has been amended many times, we will also amend it. We have come to power for that," Hegde was reported as saying.
On Wednesday, the opposition sought Hegde's removal from the Council of Ministers and Parliament, saying he had insulted the Constitution of India as well as its architect Bhimrao Ambedkar.
The Opposition forced repeated adjournments over the issue.
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Punjab Police cops withdrawn from Kejriwal's security
Chandigarh, Jan 23 (PTI): Punjab Police personnel deployed in the security of Aam Aadmi Party national convener Arvind Kejriwal have been withdrawn, the state police chief said on Thursday.
"Time to time, we get reports of threats to chief minister Bhagwant Mann and Arvind Kejriwal and we share them with the concerned agencies.
"Following the directions of the Delhi police and the Election Commission today, we withdrew the component of the Punjab police in the security of Kejriwal ji," Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav told reporters in Patiala.
"We showed our concerns to them. We will remain in touch with them. We will share our inputs with the Delhi police," he said.
The development comes ahead of the elections for the 70-member Delhi Assembly on February 5. The poll results are set to be declared on February 8.
