Karnataka: Mocking secularists, Union Minister Anant Kumar Hegde says statute too will change

KOPPAL/DHARWAD: Union Minister Anant Kumar Hegde, who has courted controversies in the past, has found himself in the middle of a fresh one on Sunday.  Taking a dig at secularists, he said although they “cannot recognise their own parents”, they pose as intellectuals.”   

Participating in a Brahmin Yuva Parishat programme at Kukanoor town in Koppal district on Sunday, he said he feels happy if people say proudly that they are Muslims or Christians or Lingayats or Hindus as they are aware of their lineage. “But, I don’t know what to call the people who call themselves secular.”
“When it comes to it (secular), they point to the Constitution. Yes, we agree, it is included in the Constitution. They even refer to Manu Smriti. They don’t realise that Smritis are the statutes of the respective eras. Today, we follow Ambedkar ‘smriti’.  We respect the Constitution and it has changed over time, several times; and it will change in the future. We are here to change the Constitution.”

Reacting to Hegde’s comments, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said at Garag village in Dharwad  that the Union minister had no respect for the Constitution.  “I do not want to stoop to his level. We know our language and culture.  He is a Union minister, but spits venom.”