In 1950, no one minded Hindu gods on pages of Constitution: Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad
Ahmedabad, Sep 11: Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said here on Wednesday that if a BJP government had illustrated the Constitution with Hindu iconography, there would have been a hue and cry, but it was not found amiss in 1950.
Displaying an original copy of the Constitution, gifted to him in 2000 by then parliamentary affairs minister Pramod Mahajan, Prasad also said the framers of the Constitution did not expressly term the country as secular as they knew the soul of India is secular.
Renowned painter Nand Lal Bose illustrated the pages of the Constitution with images of Hindu gods and goddesses besides those of Buddha, Mahavir and historical figures, as it was decided that it should reflect our cultural heritage, the Union Law Minister said.
He was addressing a "national unity mission" event organised by the city unit of the BJP.
"Suppose we were to frame the Constitution today and we were to put these images on its pages, a hue and cry would have erupted that India is becoming a Hindu nation, secularism is being done away with," he said.
"The framers of our Constitution did not call our country secular, because they knew the soul of our country is secular. Like the Rig Veda says, `Truth is one, scholars define it differently'," he said.
"You respect my path of truth, I respect your path, because all the paths lead to one `Satchidanand'. This is India's imagination," the BJP leader added.
Speaking about abrogation of Article 370 which gave a special status to Jammu and Kashmir, Prasad recalled the role played by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the first home minister, in ensuring merger of princely states.
The state of Hyderabad would have turned into a "Palestine" had Patel not united it with India, he said.
"Had Patel not been there, Somnath temple would have faced the same trouble like Ayodhya, and had he lived long, even the Ayodhya temple issue would have been resolved," he said.
The temple at Somnath, destroyed by Muslim invaders centuries ago, was rebuilt after Independence.
Injustice was done to Patel as he was honoured with Bharat Ratna 41 years after his death, he said.
"They said Article 370 was a bridge to unite (Kashmir with rest of India). Article 370 was not a bridge but a platform for separatism and terrorism. While Article 370 was in force, 42,000 people were killed," the Union minister said.
"Between 2009 and 2019, Rs 2.70 lakh crore were given to Kashmir. The result was separatism and stone-pelting. If so many people were being killed, money was being misused, shouldn't it have been stopped? Article 370, which was temporary, was (therefore) removed," he said.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Naxalite carrying Rs 5 lakh bounty killed in encounter with security personnel in Chhattisgarh
Dantewada (PTI): A Naxalite carrying a reward of Rs 5 lakh on his head was killed in an encounter with security personnel in Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada district, police said on Thursday.
The gunfight took place on Wednesday night in forested hills under the Geedam police station area when a joint team of the District Reserve Guard and Bastar Fighters, both units of the state police, was out on an anti-Naxal operation, Dantewada Superintendent of Police Gaurav Rai said.
Police received inputs on March 3 that Naxalites were reportedly concealing weapons and other materials in the forested hill region between Gumalnar, Girsapara and Nelgoda villages in the Geedam area bordering Bijapur district. Based on the tip, the operation was launched, he said.
ALSO READ: Flight services between Kolkata, Dubai resume partially
When the patrolling team was cordoning off the forest hills, 8-10 Naxalites belonging to the Bhairamgarh Area Committee of the Maoist organisation began firing indiscriminately from their automatic weapons, triggering an exchange, he said.
Taking advantage of the dense forest, hilly terrain and darkness, most Naxalites managed to flee from the spot. During a search of the encounter site, the body of one Naxalite, along with arms and ammunition, was recovered, the official said.
The neutralised Naxalite was identified as Rajesh Punem, a resident of Burji village under Gangaloor police station limits in Bijapur district, Rai said. Punem carried a bounty of Rs 5 lakh.
The recovered materials include a self-loading rifle, an INSAS rifle, a pistol with a magazine, a walkie-talkie set, several magazines and live cartridges of SLR, INSAS and pistol, along with empty shells, he said.
A search operation in the area is underway, police said.
With this action, at least 26 Naxalites have been killed in separate encounters in Chhattisgarh so far this year.
On January 3, according to officials, 14 Maoists were gunned down in two encounters in the Bastar region, which comprises seven districts, including Dantewada.
Last year, 285 rebels were killed in encounters with security forces in Chhattisgarh.
The Centre has set a deadline of March 31 this year to eradicate Left-Wing Extremism from the country.
