Over 100 ex-bureaucrats request PM to call for end to 'politics of hate'
New Delhi, Apr 26: Over 100 former civil servants have written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi with a hope that he will call for an end to what they termed as "politics of hate" allegedly practised "assiduously" by governments under BJP's control.
In an open letter, they said "we are witnessing a frenzy of hate filled destruction in the country where at the sacrificial altar are not just Muslims and members of the other minority communities but the Constitution itself".
Former Lt Governor of Delhi Najeeb Jung, former National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon, ex-foreign secretary Sujatha Singh, former home secretary G K Pillai and former prime minister Manmohan Singh's principal secretary T K A Nair are among the 108 signatories to the letter.
As former civil servants, it is not normally our want to express ourselves in such extreme terms, but the relentless pace at which the constitutional edifice created by our founding fathers is being destroyed compels us to speak out and express our anger and anguish, the letter said.
The escalation of hate violence against the minority communities, particularly Muslims, in the last few years and months across several states - Assam, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, all states in which the BJP is in power, barring Delhi (where the union government controls the police) - has acquired a frightening new dimension, it said.
The former bureaucrats said they believe that the threat is unprecedented and at stake is not just constitutional morality and conduct; it is that the unique syncretic social fabric, "which is our greatest civilizational inheritance and which our Constitution is so meticulously designed to conserve, is likely to be torn apart".
"Your silence, in the face of this enormous societal threat, is deafening," the letter said.
"We appeal to your conscience, taking heart from your promise of 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas'," it said.
"It is our fond hope that in this year of 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav', rising above partisan considerations, you will call for an end to the politics of hate that governments under your party's control are so assiduously practising," said the letter.
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File sedition case against anti-constitution remarks: HC Mahadevappa
Bengaluru: Karnataka Social Welfare Minister Dr. HC Mahadevappa has strongly criticised Uttar Pradesh’s Shambhavi Peethadhishwar Swami Anand Swaroop Maharaj for his statement regarding the unveiling of a new 501-page "Constitution" based on Ram Rajya, Manusmriti, Dharmashastra, and Chanakya's texts at the Mahakumbh Mela on February 3.
In a press release, Dr. Mahadevappa expressed outrage over the remarks, stating that the nation observed Republic Day on January 26, paying tribute to Dr BR Ambedkar, the architect of the Indian Constitution. He emphasised that the Constitution, which upholds equality and justice, remains the cornerstone of India's progress and unity.
"While the entire nation reveres the Constitution, it is alarming to see Swamiji announcing the unveiling of a new 'Constitution' that contradicts its fundamental values. It is shocking that such remarks, which undermine the very essence of our democracy, have not been adequately highlighted as treacherous by most media outlets," he said.
Dr. Mahadevappa also pointed out the recurring anti-Constitutional rhetoric, referring to the recent remarks made by the Pejawar Swamiji in Udupi. He stated that these views are not new but part of a historical struggle against regressive ideologies.
Criticising Manusmriti and other religious texts cited in Swamiji's proposed Constitution, he remarked, "Manusmriti, which denies equal rights to women and perpetuates caste-based discrimination, has no place in a modern, democratic society. This new document is essentially another version of Manusmriti, which Dr Ambedkar had symbolically burnt. It is the duty of every Indian to reject and resist such attempts."
Dr. Mahadevappa urged the central government to file a sedition case against Swami Anand Swaroop Maharaj for his remarks, which he described as seditious and harmful to the nation’s unity.
