Tharoor asks BJP if its constitution is one of its ‘fabled jumlas’

PTI, Apr 7, 2022, 9:23 AM IST

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Wednesday took a swipe at the BJP on its foundation day, asking whether its constitution is one of its ”fabled jumlas” as there is ”nothing on its front page that the party actually believes in or practises”.

He posted a picture on Twitter of the front page of the BJP’s constitution which said ”the party aims at establishing a democratic state which guarantees to all citizens irrespective of caste, creed or sex, political, social and economic justice, equality of opportunity and liberty of faith and expression”.

”Happy birthday BJP! You turn 42 today. Isn’t it time to start living up to your own Constitution? There seems to be nothing on its first page that you actually believe in or practice…. Or was even this document one of your fabled jumlas,” he tweeted.

Integral humanism shall be the basic philosophy of the party, the page Tharoor shared from the BJP’s constitution read.

”The party shall be committed to nationalism and national integration, democracy, ‘Gandhian approach to socio-economic issues leading to the establishment of an egalitarian society free from exploitation’, Positive Secularism, that is, ‘Sarva Dharma Samabhav’ and value-based politics,” it added.

Asserting that the BJP stands for ”rashtra bhakti” and its rivals for ”parivar bhakti”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said people are gradually coming to the realisation that dynastic parties are the ”biggest enemies” of democracy.

Addressing BJP members on the party’s 42nd foundation day, Modi said dynastic parties are dedicated to further family rule, have little regard for constitutional norms and cover up corruption and misdeeds of each other even though they may be active in different states.

In a reference to geo political developments due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, he said India is acting by keeping its national interest supreme when the world is divided into two opposing poles.

Targeting political rivals, he said when these parties active nationally or in states come to power, members of some families dominate from local bodies to Parliament and added that only the BJP has challenged them and made it an electoral issue.