"Oh the irony of it all": Hardeep Singh Puri's dig at INDIA bloc protest holding copy of Constitution

Jun 24, 2024

New Delhi [India], June 24 : Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Monday took a dig at the protest staged by the opposition coalition, INDIA bloc, holding the Constitution inside the Parliament premises.
In a post on X, Hardeep Singh Puri called it "supreme irony" that protest coincided with the eve of 49th anniversary of the Emergency declared by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1975.
"Oh the Irony of it all! As Charlie Chaplin said, it's doing the wrong thing at the right moment! Or is it the other way round? The supreme irony of some opposition members holding up copies of the Indian Constitution either upside down or some even with the cellophane cover still intact outside the Parliament, and at the time of oath taking, coincided with the eve of 49th anniversary of the Emergency - the Black Day for the Constitution; & suspension and violation of democratic rights imposed by none other than the linear political ancestors of those who were displaying their new found fidelity to the constitution was not lost on the people of India," Puri's post read.
He further highlighted Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership that have "upheld the Constitution."
"Modi 3.0 is a good time to remind all Indians to recall which government & leader have always upheld the constitution, and will continue to defend it against all attempts at undermining it, creating chaos and destabilising India!," Puri stated in his post on Monday.
INDIA bloc leaders earlier in the day staged a protest holding copies of the Constitution inside the Parliament premises in the national capital.
Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, party chief Mallikarjun Kharge, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and DMK MP K Kanimozhi among others took part in the protest.
"The ruling party hasn't forgotten their haughtiness. We can see that they are ignoring the key subjects of the country. The whole Dalit community in India could witness a historic seen if K Suresh were appointed as Pro-tem Speaker. Today, BJP has not just neglected Congress, INDI alliance and K Suresh but the whole Dalit community," Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi said.
Trinamool Congress leaders Sudip Bandhopadhyay, Kalyan Banerjee, and Sougata Roy, who were also among the MPs who protested, stated that the Modi government has violated the Constitution.
"We are protesting because the provisions of the Constitution have been violated. The Constitution has been violated by the Narendra Modi government. The way the pro-tem speaker has been appointed is a clear violation of the Constitutional provision and clear violation of the earlier precedences," TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee said.
The protest was over the appointment of the pro-tem speaker that the current appointment deviated from the traditional practice of appointing the seniormost member.