Letters: Against secularism

With reference to the editorial, "Don't undermine Constitution" (September 2), the decision of the Haryana Assembly to invite a Jain monk, Tarun Sagar, to deliver a lecture on its floor goes against the grain of India being a secular state.

I fully endorse the well-considered view of the editorial that the monk's speech in the Assembly fundamentally violated the Constitutional requirement to separate religion from politics. Such a move was unprecedented and might open the Pandora's box. Now other states might also host religious leaders in their Assemblies.

The monk's lopsided view on women cannot be endorsed. Why should politics be subservient to religion?

The M L Khattar-led state government must apologise to the country for this political misadventure in the Assembly.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi should have issued an advisory to all Bharatiya Janata Party-led states to desist from taking such short cuts to gain emotional popularity.

State Assemblies are meant to carry out official business in the true spirit of the Constitution. They should not be used as a platform to propagate the religious ideals of any community.

Kumar Gupt, Panchkula

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