Yogi's stand is at odds with the Constitution

Those of the RSS-BJP stream have ideologically and historically been at odds with the Constitution and the tricolour, the national flag, which the RSS began to fly on its offices not very long ago. Disdain for the values enshrined in the Constitution was also shared by other, smaller, groups in the Hindutva camp that were outside the RSS — such as Yogi Adityanath’s outfit, although the Uttar Pradesh CM has represented the BJP in Parliament several times.

Nevertheless, at the level of formality, when Hindutva adherents took constitutional office as ministers, they thought it expedient to defer to the Constitution on which they took their oath. But the recent comments of the UP chief minister clearly show he has no love lost for the nation’s Constitution.

At a public function in Raipur on Monday, holding forth as a proponent of the Hindu supremacist ideology, and in utter disregard of the constitutional oath he took as CM, the Yogi said it was his belief that the “word secular has represented the biggest lie since Independence”.

This was as good as a disavowal of the Constitution itself. The Constitution is a composite whole. It is not possible to accept it in parts. The word “secular” was incorporated into the document during Indira Gandhi’s term as PM, and as a political party the BJP has always spoken against it, but BJP ministers have been discreet and not criticised it while in office.

This was no doubt a double-faced strategy, but it was sufficient to meet the ends of technicality. Yogi Adityanath has broken that bound by behaving as a Hindutva volunteer in permanent campaign mode (and it’s no wonder he runs a disastrous administration) while remaining a chief minister.

He has spoken out against a fundamental tenet of the Constitution. It is not clear if this makes him liable to prosecution if someone should feel aggrieved enough by his anti-constitutional rant to take him to court.

But what is evident is that the CM has failed the test of both patriotism as well as “Indian nationalism”, rather than the narrow nationalism defined by adherence to a religious community, which he will no doubt pass with flying colours.

Among CMs, Yogi has a special place with the RSS-BJP. He is frequently sent to different states to dilate on ideology, and is gaining a national profile. That makes his attack on the Constitution even more troubling.

There can be little doubt about the durability of the idea of “secular”, although it was brought in during the Emergency through the 42nd amendment. No BJP government yet has had the courage to drop it. The reason for its longevity is that it becomes an amplification of “democracy” itself, and of republican values, that are vital in a multi-religious country.