Condemning Union Minister Anantkumar Hegde for his recent remarks referring to secularists and his call for changing the Constitution, B.R. Patil, MLA from Aland, said that he would file a criminal case against the Minister shortly. He was addressing a press conference here on Tuesday.
“I have consulted many legal experts on the issue. They are of the opinion that the remarks amount to a criminal offence. Secularism in enshrined in the preamble of the Constitution. With his remarks, Mr. Hegde has insulted the entire country, including President, Prime Minister and all the citizenry who have accepted and are functioning as per the Constitution. His remarks amount to sedition,” he said.
Mr. Patil also demanded that the President intervene and remove Mr. Hegde from the Union Council of Ministers on the grounds that the Minister defied the Constitution through which he was made Minister.
“The entire political system is based and functions on the Constitution. Defying it means defying the political system including the authority of President of India, Prime Minister and governments. Mr. Hegde doesn’t deserve to continue as Minister. The President needs to take the issue seriously and remove the Minister from office,” he said.
Mr. Patil opined that Mr. Hegde was just a mouthpiece of the Sangh Parivar and alleged that the real players were RSS [Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh], BJP [Bharatiya Janata Party] and other outfits of the Sangh Parivar.
