Congress, Nehru strengthened democracy to extent that ‘tea-seller’ could become PM: Sukhdeo Bhagat

New Delhi, Dec 14 (PTI) Congress MP Sukhdeo Bhagat on Saturday said his party and India’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru strengthened the roots of democracy and the Constitution to the extent that a “tea-seller” could become the country’s prime minister.

Participating in a debate on 75 years of the adoption of the Constitution, Bhagat hit back at Union minister Rajnath Singh claiming opposition leaders had seen their families keep the Constitution in their pockets for generations and said this was true as the most precious and important things were kept in pockets.

“Yesterday (Friday), ruling party people were attacking Nehru but I would like to tell the House that the Congress and Nehru strengthened the roots of democracy and the Constitution so much that a tea-seller is a prime minister now. The Congress strengthened the roots (of democracy),” the MP from Jharkhand’s Lohardaga said.

Slamming the BJP, he claimed the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)-linked Organiser had said India would not accept the Tricolour and that three colours were inauspicious.

He also alleged that in 2000, then-RSS chief K Surdarshan had called for changing the Constitution.

The Constitution’s democratic and secular character is being attacked, Bhagat alleged.

He pointed out that it was Nehru who allowed a discussion on China during the war.

“Rahul Gandhi took the name of a business conglomerate and, like a touch-me-not plant, Parliament was shut and the government silenced,” he said.

Independent MP Pappu Yadav took a swipe at the government by starting his his speech with a slew of poems.

“We talk of one nation, one election but we do not talk about one education, one health,” he said and hit out at the government over privatisation.

Yadav also called for reservation in private jobs.

The Rashtriya Janata Dal’s (RJD) Sudhakar Singh slammed the government over the electoral bonds scheme and said it had disturbed the level-playing field in elections.

Gurumoorthy Maddila of the Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) said the Constitution was not just a political document but a manifesto for transformation, addressing historical injustices and ensuring substantive qualities.