New Delhi: Leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha, Union Minister of Health J.P. Nadda, Tuesday criticised the Congress for introducing the word “secular” in the Constitution’s preamble, accusing the party of doing so for “minority appeasement”. He further claimed that the Congress disregarded B.R. Ambedkar’s advice against including the terms “secular” and “socialist” in the preamble. He alleged that “secular” was added to appease minorities, while “socialist” was included to cater to the liberal Left.

Nadda, who is also the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president, made these remarks while speaking on the second day of the Constitution debate in the Rajya Sabha.

He added that if the Congress had truly read the Constitution and understood the aspirations of its makers, it would not have introduced these terms.

“You added secular to appease minorities and socialist to please the liberal Left. Ambedkar himself wrote about this,” Nadda said.

Nadda stated that the BJP ended the “one nation, two Constitutions” policy in Jammu and Kashmir, while accusing Jawaharlal Nehru of ignoring B.R. Ambedkar’s suggestions on the region’s special status. He claimed that Nehru had asked Sheikh Abdullah to consult Dr Ambedkar regarding the Kashmir issue.

He goes on to quote Ambedkar who told Abdullah, “You wish India should protect your borders, she should build roads in your area, she should supply you food grains, and Kashmir should get equal status as India. But the Government of India should have only limited powers and Indian people should have no rights in Kashmir. To give consent to this proposal, would be a treacherous thing against the interests of India and I, as the Law Minister of India, will never do it.”

Nadda also raised the issue of the Emergency to attack the Congress during the debate and invited the party to join next year’s Samvidhan Divas observance to offer an apology for the Emergency. “Congress asks us to move on from the Emergency, claiming it has been acknowledged and apologised for, but I ask, how can it be forgotten?” he said. “Why was the Emergency declared? Was the nation in danger? No. The chair (Indira Gandhi’s prime ministership) was in danger. And because of this, the country was plunged into darkness.”

Noting that next year will mark 50 years since the Emergency was imposed, Nadda said, “The Congress should join in and appeal to the people that for 50 years, there was an evil attempt to strangle democracy. If there is any remorse in your heart, I appeal to you to join Anti-Democracy Day on 25 June, 2025.”

Talking about the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA), Nadda remarked, “Lalu Prasad Yadav named his daughter Misa Bharti after the act, but today he is in partnership with the Congress.”

BJP president J.P. Nadda charged the Congress with making one amendment after another without taking Parliament into confidence. He said, “Not only was Article 370 introduced, but Article 35(A) was added to it through a Presidential order, without any discussion in Parliament.”

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On triple Talaq, reservations

During the debate, Nadda discussed how the BJP-led government ended the practice of triple talaq, empowering Muslim women in the country. He pointed out that Congress never took such action due to its minority appeasement policies. Nadda added that several Muslim-majority countries, from Bangladesh to Syria, do not have this system, but India’s version of secularism allowed it to persist solely for securing minority votes.

Nadda attacked Congress for providing reservations based on religion, claiming that it goes against the Constitution. He alleged that Congress had promised reservations for Muslims in some states where they are in power. His remarks triggered a brief commotion in the House, as Congress members objected to his statements.

Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar called on Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, who said: “We never spoke about giving reservations based on religion. Where we gave reservations, like in Karnataka, the reservations were given for OBC, socially, economically and educationally backward groups. What they are saying is wrong.”

Nadda also stated that the idea of “one nation, one election” became necessary because of Congress’s misuse of Article 356 to dissolve elected governments in states.

“Today you are opposing ‘one nation-one election’, but it is because of you that it has to be brought about. From 1952 to 1967, there was one nation-one election, but you (Congress) brought about a situation by imposing Article 356 and repeatedly toppling elected governments in states.”

Although many members who spoke after Nadda attacked the ruling party for not addressing the situation in Manipur and instead spending time interacting with Bollywood’s Kapoor family.

CPI(M) John Brittas of CPI(M) said, “Why has the prime minister not visited Manipur and is instead spending time with the Kapoor family? If George Soros is threatening India, why don’t you close the US embassy?”

Sushmita Dev of the TMC criticised the BJP for staying silent on Manipur.

“Not a single BJP member has spoken about Manipur, she said, adding that the BJP is practicing “social inequality”.

“Which constitutional right have you not suspended in Manipur? Liberty, expression, speech everything has been suspended. I stand here as a Member of Parliament, representing the Northeast, demanding the resignation of every MP from Northeast and every minister who is thumping their desks behind the Leader of the House,” she said.

(Edited by Zinnia Ray Chaudhuri)

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