BSP will not sit quiet 'if any kind of tampering is done with Constitution': Mayawati

Lucknow: Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Saturday accused the ruling BJP-led NDA government and the earlier Congress regime of carrying out unnecessary changes in the Constitution.

Responding to a question on demands to remove the words 'socialist' and 'secular' from the preamble, Mayawati said, "In this regard, I have said that the basic spirit and objectives of the Constitution, whatever has been written or shown in the preamble, there should not be any tampering with it."

"Now what the RSS people say, what the BJP people say, what the Congress people say, I have nothing to say about that. But if any kind of tampering is done with the Indian Constitution, with the objectives of the Indian Constitution, then our party will not sit quiet, our party will definitely come out on the streets to protest against it. Right now we are all keeping a close watch," she told reporters in Lucknow.

The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said that "Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar, on the basis of his lifelong experiences of tireless struggles, gave India a very humanitarian Constitution in every aspect".

"But the Congress party when it was in power at the Centre and now the people of the NDA government led by the BJP, which has been in power for the last few years, have never implemented it with full honesty and integrity in the interest of the crores of countrymen," said Mayawati.

"Both these parties and their supporters have made many unnecessary changes in the Constitution from time to time as per their party's ideology and political interests," she added.

Sharpening her attack, the BSP chief said that these parties should rise above their "narrow thinking" and "political selfishness" and "should not tamper with the Constitution and its humanitarian objectives" in the interest of common people and the country so that the "sanctity of our Constitution" remains intact forever.

"But the nature and activities of these two parties and their allies also clearly show that all these parties want to change the egalitarian and extremely welfare-oriented Constitution created by Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar and turn it into the old casteist structure, which the Indian public and our party will not tolerate at all," said Mayawati.

"The words used in the Constitution and its preamble satisfy the soul of the country and have been implemented in the country only after a lot of thought and deliberation. Now, any kind of tampering with them is not right, rather it would be extremely inappropriate. This is also the BSP's advice to these parties," she added.

Mayawati further said it is very sad that the country has to face such unpleasant situations again and again in the matter of the Constitution.

She added "the BSP feels that now we will have to raise our voice against these parties across the country" provided they do not change their anti-constitutional face soon and if this trend continues then the downtrodden, people of the weaker section of this country, especially those who have got an opportunity to move ahead under the Constitution, will have to come forward.

Mayawati's remarks assume significance as the RSS on Thursday called for reviewing the words 'socialist' and 'secular' in the preamble of the Constitution, saying they were included during the Emergency and were never part of the Constitution drafted by Dr Ambedkar.

Addressing an event organised in the national capital on 50 years of the Emergency, RSS general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale said, "The preamble of the Constitution Baba Saheb Ambedkar made never had these words. During the Emergency, when fundamental rights were suspended, Parliament did not work, the judiciary became lame, then these words were added."

Referring to the situation in West Bengal, Mayawati said, "Our women are not completely safe anywhere in the entire country, including Bengal. This is also a matter of great concern. The Centre and all state governments should definitely pay attention to this matter." The BSP chief said that along with this, the Central government should always be alert and fully prepared to stop the terrorist activities happening in the country from time to time so that no terrorist organization can succeed in any of its aims.

"Apart from this, the Central government should keep a close eye on whatever is going on in the whole world at this time and before taking any decision in this matter, if the Central government also takes the opposition in good faith, then it would be better," she added.

The BSP chief also said that the Election Commission of India must clarify its position on various misleading things being said about the correction in the voter list.

This task should be completed by taking all the political parties into confidence so that the main objective of this campaign can be achieved, she added.