Copies of Constitution signed by its framers with 22 miniatures, amendments authentic: Dhankhar

The Chairman was responding to the issue raised by BJP MP Radha Mohan Das Agrawal during the Zero Hour in the House that 22 illustrations are missing in most copies of the Constitution sold in the country today.

New Delhi: Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar on Tuesday said the Constitution signed by its framers that includes 22 miniatures together with amendments by Parliament is the only authentic one that needs to be promulgated and any violation be taken seriously and dealt with sternly.

"I will appeal to the Leader of the House to ensure that in the country only the authentic version of the Indian Constitution be promulgated. Any violation of this should be taken quite seriously by the government and severe action taken," the Chairman said in the House.

He said this in the House after BJP MP Radha Mohan Das Agrawal raised the issue of 22 illustrations missing in most copies of the Constitution sold in the country today. He demanded inclusion of the original illustrations, which he alleged have been removed "unconstitutionally".

Raising the issue, Agarwal had pointed out that the 22 illustrations included pictures of Ram, Krishna, Buddha, Mahavir, Samrat Vikramaditya, Lakshmi Bai, Shivaji and Mahatma Gandhi, but they have been removed.

The issue led to a heated discussion in the House with the Congress staging a walkout, alleging that Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge was not allowed to complete his point on the issue.

Kharge was first given the floor to speak on the issue, who alleged that the BJP was unnecessarily raising the issue to create a controversy.

When Kharge sought to speak further, the Chair gave the floor to the Leader of the House J P Nadda, who refuted the charges made by Kharge. The Congress members staged a walkout from the House.

Nadda wondered what objection does the Congress have on the issue and they should have supported it and urged the government to take action.

Nadda said the copies of Constitution being published by publishers do not have the illustrations as pointed out by Agarwal.

The Chairman later said this was an extremely serious issue as the 22 illustrations carry the depiction of India's 5,000 year old tradition and heritage.

He said any change emanating from the Indian Parliament duly signed by the President of India under Article 111 must invariably find mention in the Indian Constitution, irrespective of any intervention from judiciary or otherwise.