BJP distances from Hegde, says party stands by Constitution
BENGALURU: The BJP on Sunday moved to defuse the row sparked by its MP Anantkumar Hegde’s support for amending the Constitution as it dubbed his remarks “personal opinion” and sought clarification from him.
With the opposition targeting the ruling party over the Karnataka MP’s comments, its spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia said the BJP has always acted in line with constitutional ethos and national interest.
In a post on X, the Karnataka unit of the BJP said, “MP Ananthkumar Hegde’s remarks on the Constitution are his personal views and do not reflect the party’s stance. BJP reaffirms our unwavering commitment to uphold the nation’s Constitution and will ask for an explanation from Hegde regarding his comments.”
The Congress accused the BJP and the RSS of having a “hidden and devious” agenda of “re-writing and destroying” the Constitution after Hegde remarked that his party needs a twothird majority to amend the Constitution.
Addressing a gathering at Karwar in Karnataka, Hegde said the BJP needs a two-third majority in both houses of Parliament to amend the Constitution and “set right the distortions and unnecessary additions made to it by the Congress”.
A six-term Lok Sabha MP and former Union minister, Hegde is known for his hardline views and his comments have sparked controversies in the past too.
Addressing a gathering in Uttara Kannada district, Hegde said, “If the Constitution has to be amended -- the Congress fundamentally distorted the Constitution by forcefully filling unnecessary things in it, especially by bringing in laws that were aimed at suppressing the Hindu society -- if all of this has to be changed it is not possible with this (current) majority.
Reacting to Hegde’s statement, Karnataka deputy chief minister and state Congress chief D K Shivakumar said this showed that the BJP was “anti-Constitution”.
“Let him do it, amend the Constitution... this shows that the BJP government (at the Centre) and the BJP MP are against the Constitution given by Babasaheb Ambedkar. Let him get it stamped by the PM,” he told reporters.