Both houses of India's Parliament the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha were adjourned on Monday following a contentious issue raised by the government regarding a statement made by a senior Congress leader.
The adjournment was confirmed by the Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Kiren Rijiju, who expressed serious concerns over the matter.
According to reports, Rijiju informed that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government had taken strong objection to a statement allegedly made by the Congress leader.
Rijiju argued that such remarks were not only inappropriate but also challenged the secular fabric of the Indian Constitution. He reminded that the issue of Muslim reservation was rejected by the Constituent Assembly in 1947 when the Muslim League had proposed it.
He emphasised that the Constitution permits reservations based on social and economic criteria, not on religious identity or affiliation.
Expressing his concerns, Rijiju accused the Congress leader of attempting to alter the Constitution for political gains. He demanded an official stance from the Congress party and its president, who is also the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha.
The minister urged the Congress leadership to clarify whether they endorsed the leader's views or intended to take action against him.
The remarks have triggered a political storm, with members of the ruling party accusing the Congress of undermining the nation's constitutional principles.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday alleged that Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar’s latest remarks on Muslim quota have brought to light the Congress' "hidden agenda" of changing the Constitution to provide reservation to the minority community for their votes.
Rahul Gandhi, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and Sonia Gandhi should tell the country that they will not change the Constitution, former Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said at a press conference at the BJP headquarters here.
This came after Shivakumar at a media event on Sunday purportedly suggested that a "good day" may come when the Constitution may be changed to accommodate quota for Muslims. However, the Congress leader on Monday claimed that he had been misquoted and asserted that he "never said that we will change the Constitution".
As a row erupted over his purported remarks with the BJP raising the issue in Parliament, the Karnataka deputy chief minister clarified in a post on X that he has never stated that the Constitution will be amended in any manner to give religion-based reservation.
He accused the BJP's leaders and ministers, both in Karnataka and at the Centre, of resorting to "brazen and blatant" lies to malign the Congress and him "by falsely attributing statements" to him.
At the press conference, Ravi Shankar Prasad read out the remarks made by Shivakumar and said, “Truth has the very uncanny habit of appearing and reappearing.”
"It’s Congress' hidden agenda that it will change the Constitution for votes," he alleged, terming Shivakumar’s remarks as “the beginning”.
“Rahul Gandhi, will you speak up? Will you make a comment on the comments made by your Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar? Will you clarify that the Congress will not change the Constitution for appeasement (of Muslims),” Prasad asked.
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