Spell out contribution of RSS, Hindu Mahasabha to making of Constitution: DMK's A Raja to BJP
New Delhi(PTI): DMK leader A Raja hit out at the BJP on Saturday, claiming that the ruling party would have changed the Constitution had the words "secular" and "socialist" not been added to the Preamble of the document during Emergency.
Participating in a debate on the Constitution in the Lok Sabha, Raja also dared the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to spell out the contribution of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Hindu Mahasabha to the making of the Constitution.
The former Union minister said democracy alone was assaulted when the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) was imposed during Emergency, but under the BJP-led government, the basic structure of the Constitution, codified by the Supreme Court in the Kesavananda Bharti case, is under attack.
"Democracy alone was assaulted during MISA, but in your regime, entire six elements (spelt out in the Kesavananda Bharati case), namely democracy, secularism, rule of law, equality, federalism, judicial impartiality, everything has gone," Raja said.
When Union minister Pralhad Joshi pointed out that DMK founder M Karunanidhi was also arrested during Emergency, Raja countered, saying his party does have grievances with the Congress, but is sitting with it to uphold the Constitution.
"We know the pain. Do not teach us lessons. In spite of that we are sitting here. Why? We have been injured, our party has been assaulted, but we think, we believe in the Constitution, nationality and the country is above everything for all of us. That is why we are sitting with the Congress," Raja said.
The senior DMK leader said the Congress was a "silent spectator" when he and his party colleague, K Kanimozhi, were put in jail in the 2G case.
"When we were arrested, the Congress was in power. We never begged. When we were acquitted, you were in power. We never begged. We stand for what we are," Raja said.
"I do not think (about) which side we are, but the cause we are standing here (opposition benches) for, that is the problem," he added.
Certain remarks made by Raja triggered an uproar in the House and were objected to by Joshi and BJP member Nishikant Dubey. BJP member Jagadambika Pal, who was in the chair, said the remarks in question will not be part of parliamentary records.
Telugu Desam Party (TDP) member Lavu Srikrishna Devarayalu slammed the Congress for dividing Andhra Pradesh against the wishes of the people of the state.
"We have been hearing from the opposition that the Constitution is in danger.... I would ask the Congress to look no further than 2013," Devarayalu said.
He said the Andhra Pradesh Assembly had rejected a proposal to bifurcate the state and yet the Bill was moved in Parliament. He said the members of Parliament from the southern state were whisked out of the House when the Bill was passed.
The TDP leader also recalled that the Congress had dismissed the Andhra Pradesh government headed by Chief Minister N T Rama Rao in 1984.
Devarayalu requested the government to amend the Constitution to hold local bodies' polls as part of the proposed "one nation, one election" initiative. He also pitched for reframing the "right to education" as the "right to quality education" as students were found lacking in reading and writing skills.
Devarayalu also wanted the government to fix a timeline for governors to grant assent to bills approved by state assemblies.
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Three terrorists involved in Pahalgam attack eliminated, Amit Shah announces in Lok Sabha
New Delhi (PTI): Three terrorists involved in the Pahalgam attack have been eliminated by security forces in a joint operation by the Army, CRPF and Jammu and Kashmir Police near Srinagar, Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.
Participating in the special discussion on Operation Sindoor, Shah said the terrorists were killed under Operation Mahadev on Monday. They have been identified as Suleman alias Faizal, Afghani and Jibran.
"While Suleman was an A-category commander of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, Afghani was also an A-category Lashkar-e-Taiba terroris, Jibran too was a notorious and wanted terrorist. All these three terrorists involved in the killing of our citizens at Baisaran valley in Pahalgam have now been eliminated," he said.
To be sure about the identity of the terrorists, those detained by security forces for helping the terrorists were brought in and confirmed that the three were involved in the April 22 attack in Pahalgam, Shah told the House.
"People who used to supply food, provide shelter to the terrorists were detained earlier. Once the bodies of these terrorists were brought to Srinagar, they were identified by those who were detained by our agencies," he said.
The arms -- M-9 and AK-47 rifles -- recovered from the terrorists were flown to Chandigarh on Monday night in a special flight for examination at the Central Forensic Science Laboratory.
The empty cartridges found at Pahalgam and those after test firing by the recovered guns were matched by the forensic lab, Shah said. The ballistic report is with him, he added.
"Six forensic experts have confirmed to me on a video call this morning that these are the same bullets used in the Pahalgam attack," he said.
The home minister said security forces had recovered Pakistani voter IDs of two of the killed terrorists as well as chocolates made in Pakistan and the weapons.
After the Pahalgam attack, security forces were instructed not to allow terrorists responsible for the dastardly act to leave the country
Describing the Pahalgam attack as barbaric, Shah said innocent civilians were brutally killed in front of their families after being asked about their religion and were murdered with extreme cruelty.
Expressing heartfelt condolences for those who had lost their lives in Pahalgam and during Pakistani shelling on civilians, the home minister said due to Pakistani firing civilians were martyred and some gurdwaras and temples damaged.
