New Delhi: A day after 26 people were killed in an attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, Bharatiya Janata Party MP Nishikant Dubey said Articles 26 to 29 of the Constitution of India, which pertain to freedom to manage religious affairs and cultural and educational rights of minorities, should be scrapped.
In a post on X Wednesday, Dubey said, “When the country was divided in the name of Hindus and Muslims, then those who made Hindus second class citizens by giving more rights to Muslims in the name of minority just for vote bank should tell today on the incident of Pahalgam whether today’s murder was done on the basis of religion or not?”
“Shame on secular leaders, Pakistan-occupied Kashmir will be ours. Have patience, this is Modi’s government, whose Home Minister is Amit Shah ji,” he said, adding, “It is time to end Articles 26 to 29 of the Constitution.”
Article 26 of the Indian Constitution gives the freedom to manage religious affairs, allowing religious denominations to establish institutions, manage their affairs, and administer property. Article 27 concerns freedom from religious taxes, while Article 28 gives freedom to attend religious instruction or religious worship in certain educational institutions. Furthermore, Article 29 protects the interests of minorities, including the right to conserve a distinct language, script or culture.
Dubey’s remarks come just days after he stirred controversy with his comments against the Supreme Court and Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna, calling Khanna responsible for “all civil wars in the country”. BJP president J.P. Nadda distanced the party from the comments. However, despite Nadda’s instruction to avoid targeting the judiciary, Dubey has continued his attack on the judiciary, questioning the credentials of past CJIs appointed under the Congress government.
On Tuesday, as ThePrint reported earlier, a group of four Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists, including two locals, armed with AK-47 rifles with steel-tipped bullets and wearing body cameras, singled out Hindus among tourists in Pahalgam and sprayed them with bullets.
With at least 26 people confirmed killed, national outrage mounted. In Jammu, the BJP and Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) held protests against the attack Wednesday, and BJP leaders pushed the Union government to give a ‘befitting reply’ to Pakistan.
Speaking to reporters in Jammmu Wednesday, former BJP Jammu and Kashmir leader Ravinder Raina said, “The Pahalgam terrorist attack is a murder of humanity. Kashmir has been bled, and Pakistan and these terrorists will have to pay a heavy price for this crime… The blood of innocents that has been shed in Pahalgam in Kashmir will be avenged.”
(Edited by Sanya Mathur)
Also Read: 4 LeT terrorists, including 2 local men with body cams, carried out Pahalgam killings
