'Unacceptable that RSS or its affiliates should put any condition on Muslims'
The Indian Express | 1 hour ago | 17-01-2023 | 02:40 pm
The Indian Express
1 hour ago | 17-01-2023 | 02:40 pm
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s remarks in an interview to the Sangh-affiliated journals sent ripples of concerns through the Urdu Press, which called his prescription for the Muslim citizenry unacceptable, finding his references to “Hindus at war” and “enemy within” disturbing.Amid the rising conflict between the Centre and the Supreme Court over the appointment of judges, some Urdu dailies also took an alarming view of Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar’s questioning of the apex court’s landmark judgment in the Kesavananda Bharati case, which laid down the Basic Structure Doctrine, sensing in Dhankar’s critique a reflection of the government’s push to tame judiciary.URDU TIMESCommenting on the speech delivered by Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar at the 83rd All-India Presiding Officers’ Conference in Jaipur — in which he questioned the Supreme Court Constitution Bench’s 7-6 judgment in the landmark 1973 Kesavananda Bharati case, which enunciated that Parliament cannot change the Constitution’s Basic Structure — the Mumbai-based Urdu Times, in its editorial on January 15, says that V-P Dhankhar made it clear that in a democracy Parliament is supreme and that Judiciary does not have the authority to limit its power to amend the Constitution. “V-P Dhankhar’s statement flies in the face of what defines Indian democracy and is a bid to redefine democracy under which Judiciary would be subservient to Legislature,” it writes, adding that the doctrine of separations of powers between the three organs of the State, which is at the heart of any democracy, stipulates that each of them will operate independently without impinging on the authority of the other organs.“Vice President’s comment that Parliament is supreme is not right as in a democracy it is the Constitution which is supreme. And if any laws or constitutional amendments are made — even by a party that wins all the seats in Parliament — which are judicially determined to be violative of the Constitution’s foundational principles, these would be liable to be quashed for being unconstitutional,” the daily writes. It points out that Dhankhar has opposed the apex court’s2015 decision to quash the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Act, brought after amending the Constitution by an overwhelming majority, as he called it a “severe compromise” of the parliamentary sovereignty. The law provided for a significant role for the executive in the appointment of judges to the higher judiciary, but the apex court struck it down to retain this right that it exercises through the Collegium. The NJAC Act was perceived to be a bid to bring Judiciary under the government’s influence, the edit adds.SALARFlagging the RSS Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat’s remarks on the Muslim community during an interview with the RSS-affiliated journals, Organiser and Panchjanya, that Muslims have nothing to fear in India but they must abandon their “narrative of supremacy”, the Bengaluru-based Salar, in an editorial on January 12, says that after making a pitch for peace and harmony for some time Bhagwat has again repeated a rhetoric which rather than improving the communal situation would again widen the chasm between the communities. “Bhagwat heads an organisation (RSS) which has never believed in India’s Constitution, which upholds equality of all religions. The people of India have embraced the Constitution which has ensured peaceful co-existence of all communities in the country. But there have been forces that have always attempted to subvert the Constitution based on justice and equality in a bid to establish a particular community’s supremacy,” the editorial charges, adding that the RSS’ views would undermine the country’s future.The daily writes, “Bhagwat said there is no harm to Muslims living today in India. If they wish to stick to their faith, they can. If they want to return to the faith of their ancestors, they may. It is entirely their choice. There is no such stubbornness among Hindus. Islam has nothing to fear. But at the same time, Muslims must abandon their boisterous rhetoric of supremacy.” The question that arises is, it states, “Who is Bhagwat to give Muslims the ‘permission’ to live in India and follow their faith. Muslims are accountable to the Constitution and not to the RSS. The Constitution has given the freedom to every citizen to live life as per his/her preferences.”The edit also states, “This is absolutely unacceptable that the RSS or its affiliated organisations should put any condition on Muslims’ citizenship in India. Bhagwat’s comments betray his ill-intentioned bid to seek the supremacy of the majority Hindu community and ensure that all other communities should remain subservient to it, which cannot be accepted.” The Muslim community is “neither superior nor inferior” to any other community in the country, it says.SIASATHighlighting the challenges facing the ruling BJP in South India in the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the Hyderabad-based Siasat, in its editorial on January 14, says that despite ruling the country and dominating most of its regions the southern frontier has continued to elude the party. “This is like the ‘Hanooz Dilli dur ast (Delhi is still far away)’ challenge for the BJP,” the daily writes, noting that the party has ramped up preparations to expand its footprint in South India, as part of which its central leaders have been touring the southern states continuously. The party’s blueprint for the South mirrors its all-out action plan for West Bengal and some other states, it says.“In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP had swept states like UP, Bihar, Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, but it seems the party may not repeat the same in North India in the 2024 elections. So its South India plan has been drawn up to compensate for expected shortfall in its North tally,” the editorial says, adding that South India will however not be a cake walk for the saffron party. “Karnataka is the only southern state the BJP rules, which the party could clinch through back door after toppling the Congress-JD(S) government. However, there too, the party has been facing headwinds in the upcoming Assembly polls and would find it difficult to retain power. Buoyed by Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra’s Karnataka leg, the Congress seems to be in a pole position in the state ahead of the polls.”In other southern states, the BJP is not a significant player, the daily notes. “In Tamil Nadu the BJP has not been able to make its mark. In Kerala, too, despite all its attempts the party remains in wilderness as it drew a blank in the previous Assembly polls,” it says, adding that Andhra Pradesh would also be a formidable target for the BJP despite its warming up to actor-turned-politician Pawan Kalyan, given that the state’s politics is a bipolar affair involving the ruling YSR Congress and the principal Opposition Telugu Desam Party. “Telangana is a state, where the BJP has a base. The party has campaigned hard in the state and managed to make its presence felt. But it does not have candidates for all the constituencies and would need an ally, which looks tricky,” the editorial states.
