From Jal Khambata

NEW DELHI: The birth anniversary of Constitution framer
Babasaheb Ambedkar marked war cries from both the Congress and
the Bhartiya Janata Party to battle out the Constitution review
in Parliament that resumes its session on Monday after a
month-long recess.

While the Congress is trying to build up the same tempo that
it created by blocking Parliament for almost three weeks on the
RSS issue, the ruling BJP came out with a 44-page documentation
to show how the same Congress had gone for "thorough review" of
the Constitution nine times and how it was amended 58 times by
the Nehru-Gandhi family alone.

Within hours of Congress President Sonia Gandhi vowing to defeat
the Vajpayee Government's ill-motived design to change the
Indian Constitution in the name of its review, the BJP was out
with the booklet listing the attempts made so many times by the
Congress itself to change the Constitution.

At a Dalit rally organised in Delhi to mark the 109th birth
anniversary of Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar, architect of the
Constitution, Sonia Gandhi affirmed that the Constitution review
was only an excuse as the Government's "mal-intention" was to
deprive the downtrodden of their due rights.

In a strong rebuttal, the BJP document, however, affirmed that
there is absolutely no threat to the policy of reservations from
the Constitution Review Commission and the Congress was
spreading this "blatant lie" only in the hope that it can check
erosion of its popularity.

Even as Sonia Gandhi told the rally that the Congress, as a
custodian of the Constitution, would launch a nationwide
campaign to expose the ruling BJP's design, BJP spokesman M
Venkaiah Naidu told reporters that the party would translate the
booklet in all regional languages by April end for distribution
up to village levels to expose the Congress.

The Congress attempt to oppose the Constitution review would
boomrang on the Congress as the people must know that the
Constitution was amended 58 out of 69 times by just one family
of Jawaharlal Nehru-Indira Gandhi-Rajiv Gandhi, BJP
Vice-President Jana Krishnamurthy remarked.

While Sonia Gandhi received cheering ovation from the assembled
crowd in the indoor Talkatora Stadium as she promised that the
Congress would ensure not only equal rights but also a share in
power to the Dalits, the BJP booklet carries eight points under
the title "Who is anti-Dalit" to affirm that the Dalits have
been always cheated and deprived by the Congress.

Venkaiah Naidu said the BJP decided to bring out the 44-page
Fact Sheet on the Constitution Review to give a rebuttal to the
hypocritical criticism of the Congress and the Communists.

Jana Krishnamurthy said that the booklet would reach nook and
corner of India would make people ask questions to the Congress
which will not be able to respond.

While Sonia Gandhi pointed out, both in Delhi and at Nagpur at
the Dalit rallies, that the BJP was rushing through the
Constitution Review only for electoral advantage, Krishnamurthy
poohpoohed the Congress for trying to cover up the continuous
decline of its support base by raising the bogey aainst the
Constitution reforms.

The booklet shows how the Constitution was amended on June 2,
1951 within 17 months of its adoption on January 26, 1950 when
the Prime Minister was Jawaharlal Nehru.

As early as in April 1954, that is within four years of the adoption
of the Constitution, the Congress Working Committee had
appointed a sub committee, headed by Jawaharlal Nehru, to study
the question of changes in the constituion.

When so soon after the Constitution was framed, the question of
its study had begun, what is wrong in reviewing it after fifty
years of its functioning, the BJP booklet asked.

It also points out that it was again the Congress which sought a
"thorough re-examination" of Indian Constitution and appointed a
committee in May 1976 under the Chairmanship of Sardar Swaran
Singh, for the purpose.

The booklet also quotes then Union Minister C K Jaffer Sharief
telling the Lok Sabha that Parliament have the inherent right to
amend the Constitution and this rightwill have to be preserved.

Under the sub-title "Who is anti-Dalit", the booklet says the
Congress and other opposition parties have launched a vicious
campaign accusing BJP and the NDA Government of trying to
curtail the rights of dalits and adivasis by setting up
constitutional review commission.

By spreading such blatant lies the Congress hopes that it can
check the rapid erosion of its support base among these sections
of the society, the BJP document said.

It says just one fact would suffice to puncture this false
Congress propoganda that it was during the period of the United
Front Government, who owed existence to the outside support of
the Congress, that five office memoranda were issued to curtail
the benefit or reservations to SCs and STs.

The NDA government, however resolved through a cabinet decision
recently to annul these office memoranda to protect the benefits
of reservations to the SC and STs. The government also decided
to bring a suitable enabling amendments to the constitution to
overcome the Supreme Court ruling in this regard, the document
added. END.
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