NEW DELHI: Leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge’s address in the upper House on Monday witnessed some playful moments with the Congress leader taking jibes at Bharatiya Janata Party MPs, including finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
Kharge, while talking about how the Jana Sangha wanted the Indian Constitution to be based on Manusmriti, was looking at the BJP MPs when they retorted saying address the Chair instead of them. In a prompt reply, Kharge said, “Mujhko bhi apko dekhna accha nahi lagta (I don’t like looking at you either.)”
“Merely pointing fingers at each other won’t help. The Jan Sangh had once aimed to structure the Constitution based on the laws of Manusmriti. This was the intent of the RSS. Those who despise the tricolor, the Ashoka Chakra, and the Constitution are now lecturing us. On the day the Constitution was implemented, these people burned effigies of Ambedkar, Mahatma Gandhi, and Jawaharlal Nehru at Ramlila Maidan. They insult the Nehru-Gandhi family without shame,” he said.
“Even today, the spirit of Manusmriti remains ingrained in them, and they blame us instead. They neither respected the tricolor nor the Constitution, which is why it took a court order on January 26, 2002, to compel the RSS headquarters to hoist the national flag,” he added.
He took a swipe at Nirmala Sitharaman as he questioned her education at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), a campus known for its progressive values.
“They studied at Jawaharlal Nehru University but I do not know what they studied because the students who studied there are so progressive and they have a big hand in building the country whether it is in Economics, Political Science or History but here the talk is about eliminating the democratic things,” he said.
Kharge was speaking on discussion on the ‘Glorious Journey of 75 Years of the Constitution of India.’