Rajya Sabha proceedings were adjourned on Monday in the pre-lunch session without transacting any business as treasury and opposition benches sparred over the issue of reservations to Muslims in Karnataka public contracts.
While ruling Bharatiya Janata Party MPs created a ruckus, alleging that a Congress leader has vowed to change the Constitution to provide reservation to Muslims, Congress president and Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge asserted that no force can change the Constitution made by B R Ambedkar.
Amid slogan shouting, mostly by the ruling side, Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar adjourned the proceedings till 2 pm.
BJP MPs started moving into the aisle raising slogans just as the House met for the day.
Dhankhar gave Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju the floor to speak on what they were agitating about.
Rijiju said a senior Congress leader who holds a constitutional post has said the party will change the Constitution to provide reservation to Muslims.
Though he did not name the leader, he was apparently referring to D K Shivakumar.
"We cannot take this statement lightly," the minister said, adding that the statement has not come from any ordinary party leader but from someone holding a constitutional post.
Stating that it is "extremely serious", he said changing the Constitution to provide religion based reservation "cannot be tolerated".
Congress leaders carry the Constitution book in their pockets but are doing everything to undermine it, he said.
When Dhankhar asked what he and his party wanted, Rijiju said the Congress president should make the party position clear and "tell the House and the nation why Congress wants to change the Constitution to provide reservation to Muslims".
Leader of the House and Union minister Jagat Prakash Nadda alleged that Congress was shredding the Constitution to pieces.
Ambedkar while framing the Indian Constitution clearly stated that "reservation will not be done on the basis of religion... his is an accepted principle of the Constitution of India", he said.
Now, the Karnataka government has provided 4 per cent reservation in public contracts to minorities, he said, demanding a statement from Kharge.
Dhankhar asked the ministers to authenticate the statements that were attributed to the Karnataka minister.
Kharge said "no one can change the Constitution provided by Ambedkar".
"We are the people protecting the Constitution. We are the ones who did Bharat Jodo Yatra from Kanyakumari to Kashmir (and) these are the ones who believe in Bharat Todo (break India)," he said referring to BJP.
He tried to speak further but was repeatedly interrupted by the sloganeering by BJP MPs.
"We are the savers of Indian Constitution," Kharge said before Dhankhar adjounred the proceedings till 2 pm.
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