NEW DELHI: Union minister and JD(U) MP Rajiv Ranjan Singh on Friday accused past Congress governments of toppling opposition-headed states by misusing Article 356 and said the party has no right to speak about the Constitution.
He said Article 356 was used seven times under Jawaharlal Nehru, 51 times under Indira Gandhi, six times under Rajiv Gandhi, 11 times under Narasimha Rao and 12 times under Manmohan Singh. The “defilers of the Constitution” cannot be its protectors, as they are trying to portray by walking around with a copy of the book, Singh said. He said nobody can tamper with Constitution till PM Modi is in office.
About the demand for caste census made by Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Singh said when it was proposed at the INDIA bloc meeting in Mumbai that a resolution be passed, Rahul Gandhi remained silent. He said the Congress brass felt it was born to rule, but people have confined it to the opposition for the last 15 years. Singh said Modi will become PM for a fourth term too, but Congress would become extinct.
BJP MP Bhartruhari Mahtab said Nehru’s mistakes inflicted suffering on generations with deaths of scores of soldiers. Mahtab complimented Modi for “rectifying” the mistake by nullifying Article 370, which accorded special status to J&K.