Anant Kumar Hegde's anti-Constitution remark rocks Parliament: Lok Sabha adjourns twice amid aggressive Opposition protests

New Delhi: Opposition ruckus on Wednesday forced the adjournment of Lok Sabha proceedings twice as members of the Congress vociferously raised the issue of union minister Ananthkumar Hegde’s controversial remarks on secularism and the Constitution. TRS members, demanding a separate high court for Telangana, trooped into the Well. They were followed by those from the Congress who raised the Hegde issue. Some other members raised concerns over the treatment meted out to the family members of Kulbhushan Jadhav by Pakistan. Despite repeated requests from Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, about 20 members continued to protest in the Well of the House. As the protests continued unabated, Mahajan asked the members to return to their seats. “If you don’t want the government to say something, then let it go,” she said, adding that she would not allow them as they were standing in the Well. [caption id=“attachment_4277423” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] A file image of Union Minister Anantkumar Hegde. PTI[/caption] Amid the din, papers were laid and a few members spoke during Zero Hour but as the unruly scenes continued, Mahajan adjourned the House till 2 pm after about 20 minutes of proceedings. Earlier, the House was adjourned for about 50 minutes soon after the Question Hour had begun. Congress members raised slogans demanding removal of Hegde from the Council of Ministers, members of the TRS also joined them with placards demanding a separate high court for Telangana. As soon as the House met for the day, some Shiv Sena members raised slogans against Pakistan, apparently over the treatment of Jadhav’s family members. Some BJP members also joined them in raising slogans like ‘Pakistan murdabad’ (down with Pakistan). During Question Hour, Leader of Congress in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge raised the issue of remarks by Hegde, following which his party members rushed into the Well raising slogans such as ‘Ambedkar ka apman nahin chalega’ (We will not tolerate the insult of B R Ambedkar – a key framer of the Constitution). At a function in Karnataka on Sunday, Hegde, the Minister of State for Skill Development, had reportedly said people should identify themselves by their religions and “those who, without knowing about their parental blood, call themselves secular, they don’t have their own identity…They don’t know about their parentage.” He had also said “we are here to change the Constitution and we’ll change it.” Prime Minister Narendra Modi was not present in the House as he is away in Himachal Pradesh attending the oath ceremony of Jairam Thakur as the Chief Minister. He is usually present in the House on Wednesday as questions related to the Prime Minister’s Office are listed on this day during Question Hour.