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#ConstitutionDay: The Rajnath-Sonia joust; and why she won this round

Panini Anand | Updated on: 13 February 2017, 10:36 IST
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The session

  • Parliament is sitting for a two-day special session ahead of next week\'s winter session
  • The purpose is to discuss commitment to the Constitution, in the 125th birth year of its architect, BR Ambedkar

The exchange

  • Home Minister Rajnath Singh tried to project that the BJP was the true follower of Ambedkar\'s path
  • Sonia Gandhi poked fun at the BJP and quoted Ambedkar giving credit to the Congress for the Constitution

More in the story

  • How Rajnath replied to Aamir Khan by using Ambedkar
  • How Sonia reclaimed the legacies of Ambedkar and the Constitution

The knives are out. The posturings at the special session of Parliament on Thursday, 26 November, have indicated the mood for the upcoming winter session, which begins next week.

The ruling alliance, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is trying to keep its morale high despite the humiliating defeat in the Bihar assembly election. On the other side, there's the Congress-led opposition, which is trying its best to keep the government restless, despite its weakness in numbers.

Also read - Lord Ram & the Constitution: Rajnath's democracy goof ups

The PM was present in the House on the first day, and everyone is hoping he attends the House regularly this time, unlike the previous rare sightings between foreign hops. He sat in the leader's seat, seeming a bit pale, without a smile or warmth. The camera spotted him biting his lip on a few occasions.

Sonia Gandhi sat on the other side, discussing the remarks made by Home Minister Rajnath Singh with Leader of the Opposition, Mallikarjun Khadge, and others. Her expressions went from anger to laughter, but the confidence was unmistakable. She has got thinner and weaker with age, but her political maturity seems to have grown enormously.

And, on this day at least, she was the show-stopper in the House.

Rajnath's gambit

Before the winter session, Parliament started with a two-day special sitting to discuss its commitment to the Constitution, as part of the 125th birth anniversary celebrations of Dr BR Ambedkar. The proceedings began with messages of condolence for former members who died recently. And then, the session started, with remarks from Lok Sabha speaker Sumitra Mahajan.

From the government side, Rajnath addressed the House. It was a speech with many reflections in it, and many focuses too. It just didn't seem cogent enough.

There was attempt to invoke Atal Bihari Vajpayee; at the same time, there were traces of the RSS and also an attempt to keep the PM satisfied.

Rajnath started by praising Ambedkar and Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel, proclaiming that Patel was the unifying force and Ambedkar was the binding force behind India. He added a third name, that of Jawaharlal Nehru, as one of the main architects of India.

But then, he took a turn towards the controversial. He said Ambedkar was ignored and insulted in India, but never said he would go to another country. Such a direct reaction to Aamir Khan's recent comments on intolerance was surprising.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh tried to project the BJP as the true follower of Ambedkar's path

Rajnath also seemed to forget that Ambedkar left the fold of Hinduism and became a Buddhist, along with his followers. He said: "People mistake Ambedkar as a leader of the Dalits. He is actually the Rashtra Rishi (national sage) of this country."

He added that Ambedkar willingly avoided words like 'socialist' and 'secular' in the Preamble of the Constitution. They were later pushed into the Preamble through the 42nd Constitutional amendment.

Rajnath then latched onto the word 'secularism'. He said the actual translation for the term is 'pantha nirapeksha' and not 'dharma nirapeksha', and that this is what features in the Hindi version of the Constitution. Through the House, he urged people to stop using 'dharma nirapeksha' as the Hindi term for 'secularism'.

Sita's trial by fire

Rajnath didn't stop there. His next reference was to Rama and Sita. "What is more democratic than Lord Rama, who took Sita's agni pariksha (trial by fire) on the basis of comments by a person of low social standing?" he asked, and then referred to the Vedas too.

The remainder of his speech was a report card of the Modi government. He referred to schemes and policies including 'Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao', 'Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan' and also the election slogan, 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas'.

Live: Winter Session begins with session on Constitution Day, Rajnath says secularism is the most misused word

The speech, unsurprisingly, wasn't free from disruption. Rajnath faced a lot of objections from the opposition.

Khadge, himself a Dalit leader, corrected him when he made his 'Ambedkar staying in India' remark. He said: "Hum kahin nahin jayenge, desh mein baahar se Arya aaye the, hum nahin. Hum yahin ke hain. (We won't go anywhere. It was the Aryans who came from outside, not us. We are from here."

'We gave India the Constitution'

Soon after Rajnath, Sonia gave one of the best addresses of her political career. She displayed an even better command over Hindi than Rajnath - using the phrase 'Praaroop Samiti' for Draft Committee, unlike Rajnath, who used the English term.

She praised Ambedkar, Nehru, Patel and added two more names - Rajendra Prasad and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad.

But soon, she reminded the House that it was the Congress which gave Ambedkar the opportunity to head the drafting committee, and quoted him giving credit to the party for the Constitution.

The ruling alliance objected, and Sonia merely laughed, then smiled at them and said, "This is registered. This is history... are there any objections?"

Sonia's speech was evolved - she took potshots at the BJP in a smart, disguised manner

That quietened the House back down, and it was clear that the members were listening to a more evolved leader. She was full of positivity; the results in Bihar and the history of her party gave her an opportunity to keep her head held high.

Sonia again quoted Ambedkar and said: "Ambedkar warned that no matter how good the Constitution we adopt, if the people who implementing it are not good, it will not be productive."

She stopped and smiled, looking towards the government benches. BJP members raised their voices of discontent, but Sonia said: "This [advice] is for both of us."

But then, having defended that googly, she again went on the offensive against the BJP and the NDA.

"It's a day of joy and also of sorrow. The ideals of the Constitution that have inspired us for decades are now under threat. They are being attacked consciously... the people who have no faith in the Constitution, and no role in its making, are today reciting its name. They want to be its keepers. They are debating our commitment to the Constitution. What could be a bigger joke?" she said.

Ambedkar's legacy

On the day the Constitution was adopted 66 years ago, this, in a nutshell, was what occurred in the House.

The BJP tried to use Ambedkar and Patel for its political purpose. It brought in Nehru only to strike a balance. It tried to project itself and its schemes as the true followers of Ambedkar's path.

But the Congress president foiled the attempt. She reclaimed the legacies of Ambedkar, Patel, Nehru, and the Constitution itself.

It was a reflection of the political mood of the nation. Undoubtedly, the tone has been set for the rest of the days when Parliament will be in session this winter.

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First published: 27 November 2015, 1:22 IST
 
Panini Anand @paninianand

Senior Assistant Editor at Catch, Panini is a poet, singer, cook, painter, commentator, traveller and photographer who has worked as reporter, producer and editor for organizations including BBC, Outlook and Rajya Sabha TV. An IIMC-New Delhi alumni who comes from Rae Bareli of UP, Panini is fond of the Ghats of Varanasi, Hindustani classical music, Awadhi biryani, Bob Marley and Pink Floyd, political talks and heritage walks. He has closely observed the mainstream national political parties, the Hindi belt politics along with many mass movements and campaigns in last two decades. He has experimented with many mass mediums: theatre, street plays and slum-based tabloids, wallpapers to online, TV, radio, photography and print.