Row over BJP candidate Jyoti Mirdha's remarks on Constitution; Tharoor, Owaisi react: ‘Does Modi ji want to…? ’
BJP candidate Jyoti Mirdha's remarks came days after a similar comment was made by Anantkumar Hegde, who has been denied a ticket for Lok Sabha elections.
The BJP candidate from Nagaur Lok Sabha constituency, Jyoti Mirdha, has landed in hot water after a purported video of her surfaced on social media in which she was heard talking about the saffron party securing a majority in both Houses of Parliament for constitutional amendments.
Reacting to the undated video, senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor pointed out that after Anantkumar Hegde, another BJP leader is openly talking about the party's alleged aim to change the Constitution.
"After Anant Hegde let the cat out of the bag, BJP leaders hastily stuffed it back in and dropped him from their candidate list. Now another BJP candidate openly says the BJP's aim is to change the Constitution," Tharoor said on X.
“How many more candidates can the BJP disavow for revealing the truth?” he added.
Read: BJP MP Anantkumar Hegde and his controversial statements
Reacting to Tharoor's post, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said: "These are all orchestrated by the MahaSutradhar himself. It is deliberate strategy."
All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi also weighed in on the controversy and asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to clarify what changes he wants to bring to the Constitution.
“Does he want the status of states to be reduced, as was done with Kashmir? Will reservation be ended on the basis of caste? Does Modi ji want to replace parliamentary democracy with presidential democracy?” Owaisi said in a post in Hindi.
“If the BJP and other Sanghis are so irritated with the Constitution, then why do they want to gain power under the Constitution?” he added.
Read: BJP drops 6-time controversial MP Anantkumar Hegde from Lok Sabha contest. 5 times his remarks stoked row
In the video now viral on social media, Mirdha is heard saying, "Desh ke hit mein kai kathor nirnay karne padte hain. Unke liye humein samvaidhanik badlav karne padhte hain. Agar samvidhan ke andar humein koi badlav karna hota hai toh aap mein se kai log jaante hain uske liye dono jo humare sadan hain, Lok Sabha aur Rajya Sabha, unke andar haami chahiye hoti hai (Several tough decisions need to be taken in the country's interest. We have to make constitutional amendments for them. If we have to make amendments to the Constitution, many of you would know that we need the nod of both Houses of Parliament, the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha)."
"Lok Sabha mein aaj BJP aur NDA ke pas prachand bahumat hai, us mein koi kami nahi hai, lekin Rajya Sabha mein aaj bhi humari majority nahi hai. (In the Lok Sabha, the BJP and the NDA have a massive mandate, but we still do not have a majority in the Rajya Sabha.)," she purportedly said.
Mirdha's purported remarks went viral days after the BJP denied ticket to former Union minister Hegde, a six-term Lok Sabha member from Uttara Kannada.
