New Delhi, 14 Apr: States cannot refuse to implement the Waqf Amendment Act, the BJP asserted on Monday citing constitutional provisions, and slammed the Congress and other INDIA bloc constituents over their continued opposition to the law.
The assertions came after Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) MLA and state minister Hafizul Hassan reportedly said that, to him, Sharia came first and then the Constitution, while Karnataka minister BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan claimed the law would not be implemented in the state.
On Saturday, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had also said the Act would not be implemented in West Bengal.
Asked for comment, BJP national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi described their stance on the issue as “a matter of serious concern” and said they made it clear with their remarks that the Constitution would be in danger if their parties continued to remain in power.
He also termed their remarks an insult to BR Ambedkar, the chief architect of the Constitution.
“We want to make it clear that after the 73rd and the 74th amendments in the Constitution, powers of the Centre, state and district-level governments are clearly defined. No district panchayat can go beyond the law passed by the state assembly and no state can bypass the law passed by the Centre (Parliament),” the BJP Rajya Sabha MP said.
Their statements show that they have no regard for the Constitution, Trivedi charged.
“They keep the Constitution in their pockets while the BJP and the NDA (National Democratic Alliance) keep the Constitution in their hearts. This is a fight between those who keep the Constitution in their pockets and those who keep it in their hearts,” he said.
“The Congress government had passed the 73rd and the 74th amendments, which were then termed ‘revolutionary’. Today, they appear to be demolishing the amendments passed by their own government,” he added. (PTI)
Latching on to the remarks made by the Karnataka and the Jharkhand ministers, the BJP spokesperson dared the Congress and its allies to take action against them.
“If it fails to take any action, it will become clear that the symbol of Sharia is above the Constitution for the Congress and the INDI Alliance,” he said and added, “For us, the Constitution is supreme.”
Trivedi also slammed Congress MP Imran Masood for his reported remarks that the amended Waqf law would be repealed within an hour if the Congress returned to power at the Centre.
“There cannot be a bigger mockery of the provisions of the Constitution than this. This shows that the Congress keeps the Constitution in its pocket. It’s clear that the Constitution is under threat when it is in the Congress’ hands,” he said.
On Kharge’s charge that BJP-RSS were “enemies” of Ambedkar, Trivedi hit back and claimed that the Constitution’s chief architect was the “first victim of electoral fraud” in India’s constitutional history and blamed both the Congress and the Communists.
“There are facts and literature available to tell who the enemy of Babasaheb was and who played the key role in ensuring his defeat by election fraud. Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar lost his first election by 74,000 votes while 75,000 votes were declared invalid. In April 1952, he had filed a petition in the court against the election fraud,” the BJP leader added.
The Congress on Monday accused the Modi government of paying only “lip service” to Ambedkar’s legacy but doing nothing to fulfil his wishes, claiming the BJP-RSS were “enemies” of the Constitution’s chief architect.
Hitting out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his criticism of the Congress’ treatment of Ambedkar, Kharge cited a 1952 letter by Ambedkar in which he blamed SA Dange and VD Savarkar for his defeat in the Lok Sabha elections.
Slamming Banerjee, the West Bengal chief minister, over her remarks on the amended Waqf law, Trivedi said she had taken such a stand out of “political compulsion”.
“It’s because the TMC (Trinamool Congress) government has been taken hostage by fundamentalist elements. Mamata Banerjee has nothing left in her hands now,” he charged.
The BJP leader termed Banerjee’s remarks “very dangerous” for the country and claimed West Bengal was moving towards “anarchy” under TMC rule.
“Will Mamata Banerjee allow any district panchayat to refuse to implement any law passed by the West Bengal Assembly?” he asked. (PTI)