Constitution based on secularism: Maya

Nagpur, Oct.

14: Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) president Mayawati on Monday said her party did not agree with RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s statement that India was a “Hindu Rashtra” and poi-nted out that Babasaheb Ambedkar drafted the Constitution on the basis of secularism.

Campaigning for her party here for the October 21 Assembly polls in Maharashtra, the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said “failed” policies of the Narendra Modi government had led to the current economic slowdown.

“The government has made ineffective laws made in the interest of Dalits and tribals. This has given impetus to those who are exploiting the downtrodden in the country,” she alleged, adding that the condition of religious minorities was also worrisome.

“Recently, the RSS chief in a statement said Muslims are happy in the country because India is a ‘Hindu Rashtra’. The BSP does not agree with this statement. The RSS chief should have read the Sachar Committee report before making such a statement,” she said.

The report, under the chairmanship of Justice Rajinder Sachar, details the ‘Social, Economic and Educational Status of the Muslim Community of India’.

“We do not agree with the RSS chief’s statement that India is a Hindu Rashtra. Because Babasaheb Ambedkar did not draft the Constitution keeping in mind only Hindus. He kept in mind people of all religions and based it on secularism. Hence, India is a secular nation and not a Hindu Rashtra,” the Dalit leader asserted.