Lok Sabha Debates
Need To Treat All Religious Faiths Equally. on 17 March, 2015
Sixteenth Loksabha an> Title: Need to treat all religious faiths equally.
KUMARI SUSHMITA DEV (SILCHAR): Hon. Deputy-Speaker, Sir, today I have requested to speak during the ‘Zero Hour’. The people of India have the freedom of religion and the Preamble to the Constitution asserts that India is a secular nation. We need to treat all religion with respect and treat all individuals as equal citizens regardless of their religion.
Our country is known for its unity in diversity. We know that in a large country like India we have people who believe in the Bhagvad Gita, we have people who believe in the Quran, we have people who believe in the Bible, we have people who believe in the Guru Granth Sahib. But all of us despite believing in these different religious books, we all unite together to believe in this one book known as the Constitution of India. As such it is just ink and paper but how do we put soul and life into a book like the Constitution of India? We put soul and life into the Constitution of India by upholding everything that is written in it. Today, as a member of the Legislature, as a member of the Judiciary, as a member of the Executive, we all get together to ensure that our Constitution is not just a book. What is secularism, according to me?
HON. DEPUTY-SPEAKER: Do not preach all these things. You come to the point.
KUMARI SUSHMITA DEV: The point which I want to raise is, this Government has recently banned the film. Why have they banned the film? They have banned the film so that the image of India does not get tarnished overseas. I would draw the attention of the House to the way in which churches are being vandalised, the way how fundamentalist statements are being made about Ghar Wapsi, the way in which a Member of the BJP has recently said in Assam that a masjid is not an integral part of Islam. This is ruining the secular image of India. I request the Government and the hon. Prime Minister to rein in on these elements.
The last point which I want to say is, today the hon. Finance Minister said that in the last nine months, we have not heard the word corruption. … (Interruptions)
HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: No, no.
… (Interruptions)
HON. DEPUTY SPEAKER: She has already spoken. What can the Finance Minister do in this matter?