Maharashtra Congress chief asks ECI to file FIR against PM Modi, Amit Shah and Nadda

Maharashtra State Congress Committee Secretary Sandesh Singalkar to file a complaint with the Election Commission of India against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and National President of the BJP JP Nadda | Photo credit: PTI

Opposing the BJP leaders' pledge to amend the Constitution if they win 400 Lok Sabha seats, Maharashtra State Congress Committee secretary Sandesh Singalkar this week filed a complaint with the Election Commission of India (ECI), calling for filing of an FIR against the top leadership of the ruling party.

Mr. Singalkar said that in the run-up to the general elections held earlier this year, some BJP MPs, candidates and officials had made public statements saying the party needed to win 400 Lok Sabha seats to be able to change the Constitution. This poses a direct threat to the existence of the Constitution of India. But senior BJP leaders Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP president JP Nadda have not taken any action and their statements have not been withdrawn. This indicates that Mr Modi, Mr Shah and Mr Nadda are proponents of anti-democratic thoughts, he said.

The complaint, filed by advocate Asim Sarode on the evening of November 14, asked the ECI to register a first information report (FIR) under sections 363 and 49 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. We have filed a complaint with the ECI urging them to register an FIR against Prime Minister Modi, Mr Shah and Mr Nadda for abetting the offense committed by BJP MPs: Anant Kumar Hegde of Karnataka, Dharampuri Arvind from Telangana, Arun Govil from Meerut. , Lallu Singh from Ayodhya, Jyoti Mirdha from Nagaur in Rajasthan and Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister Divya Kumari, Mr. Singalkar said.

Destroy the Constitution

He accused the BJP and the RSS of destroying the basic structure of the Constitution, sometimes by using their majority in the House, and sometimes by initiating changes in the constitutional framework through emotional appeals to the general public. The Constitution does not permit the destruction of the independence of various organizations and institutions of governance. By taking over and influencing the functioning of institutions like ECI, Enforcement Directorate, Central Bureau of Investigation, Income Tax Department, National Investigation Agency, the Central Pollution Control Board, etc., the Modi-Shah government has significantly dented their constitutionality and largely destroyed the constitutional intent, he said.

The lawyer, Mr. Sarode, said the nation has witnessed Mr. Modis' attempts to influence the functioning of the Supreme Court of India. The successful attempts of the RSS, the BJP and some closely related organizations and some organizations associated with the RSS have led to some advocates of their ideology becoming judges in various High Courts and the Supreme Court. Such reports are published in various newspapers and detailed journalistic reports have been published in magazines like Caravan which shows how the ideology of the BJP is involved in activities contrary to the Constitution, he added.

The complaint letter states that the ideology of the BJP, taken from the RSS, is based on hatred for equality.

Article 368 of the Indian Constitution deals with the procedure for amending the Constitution. During its first term, the BJP-led government made various changes and under the guise of amendments, the due process laid down by the Constitution was ignored and diluted. For such unconstitutional amendments, various petitions are pending against the BJP-led government in the Supreme Court of India, the complaint letter said.