Kharge cautions government against any move to alter constitution

Congress leader in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday cautioned the Narendra Modi government against any attempt to alter the constitution, asserting his party will never let it happen.

Taking part in the debate on commitment to India's constitution, Kharge said Prime Minister Modi should effectively intervene to stop his ministers from making controversial remarks.

Bharatiya Janata Party members protested against Kharge's use of expression to warn the government and said the opposition member should not make any threatening remarks. Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said she would expunge the expression.

Kharge alleged that the previous BJP-led government was also thinking of changing the constitution but fear of protests stalled any such move.

"We will not let it happen," he said.

Earlier in the day, Kharge's remarks pertaining to Aryans drew protests from BJP members. The chair said that it wil look into the issue.

In his speech, Kharge recalled words of praise of B. R. Ambedkar for Congress during the process of adopting the constitution. He also rejected criticism that Congress governments had not done enough to perpetuate memory of Ambedkar, who is regarded as the architect of constitution.

Taking a veiled dig at Modi, he said that the prime minister was, for the first time, sitting in the house from morning till evening.

The discussion on commitment to India's constitution was held as part of celebrations of Ambedkar's 125th birth anniversary.