"There should be respect for it in the heart": BJP's Sambit Patra criticises Congress members for holding copies of the Constitution in LS

New Delhi [India], June 26 : BJP MP and spokesperson Sambit Patra lambasted the Congress and Opposition parties on Wednesday for holding copies of the Constitution in the Lok Sabha and asserted that genuine respect for the Constitution must come from within and not merely by holding copies of it.
Patra's remarks came in response to Congress MPs displaying copies of the Constitution in Parliament while taking oath.
"The Congress MPs were trying to appear just and protectors of the Constitution by holding copies of the Constitution. Rahul ji, we can't protect the Constitution by holding copies of it; instead, to protect the Constitution, there should be respect for it in the heart," Patra said.
He added, "The moment Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla brought a resolution in the House against the Emergency today, Congress MPs in protest rushed towards the Well of the House but Samajwadi Party MPs remained seated. Rahul Gandhi was confused about what to do then. The situation that happened with the INDI alliance today in Parliament occurs when you support injustice while pretending to support justice."
He suggested that such a situation highlights contradictions within INDIA bloc.
Om Birla was re-elected as the Speaker of Lok Sabha today.
On June 25, 1975, Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister, imposed a 21-month state of emergency.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Emergency, which is considered one of the most controversial periods in India's political history.
Earlier in the day, Speaker Om Birla condemned the Emergency and the house also observed a two-minute silence for the people who lost their lives during the period.
"This House strongly condemns the decision to impose Emergency in 1975. Along with this, we appreciate the determination of all those people who opposed the Emergency, fought and fulfilled the responsibility of protecting the democracy of India. 25th June 1975 will always be known as a black chapter in the history of India," Birla said.
"On this day, the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi imposed an Emergency in the country and attacked the Constitution made by Baba Saheb Ambedkar. India is known all over the world as the mother of democracy. Democratic values and debate have always been supported in India. Democratic values have always been protected, they have always been encouraged. Dictatorship was imposed on such an India by Indira Gandhi. The democratic values of India were crushed and freedom of expression was strangled," he added.