Citizens’ Convention in Kolkata Calls For United Fight to ‘Save Constitution’

Kolkata: Eminent citizens, academics, political personalities, social workers and journalists gathered in Kolkata on Sunday and called for a united fight to ‘Save the Constitution’ amid growing attacks on minorities, adivasis, Dalits and those questioning the government.

“The Indian constitution has guaranteed equal rights for all citizens of the country. To thwart attacks on the Constitution, all citizens of the country embark on a unified fight to protect the Constitution”, was the essence of speeches made by participants at a seminar on “Save Constitution” held in Moulali Yuva Kendra in Kolkata. The seminar began with the staging of a short anti-fascist play.

 Most speakers at the convention that the current ruling dispensation had not taken part in the country’s freedom struggle and had not accepted the Indian Constitution then. These are the forces that were now leading relentless attacks on minorities, adivasis, Dalits and women, they noted. The convention also flayed the role played by the ruling party in West Bengal for “not allowing” the convention to take place at a much bigger space at Mahajati Sadan.

Among those who addressed the convention were Left party leaders Mohd Salim of CPI(M), Dipankar Bhattacharya of CPI(ML)Liberation, state Congress chief Shubhankar Sarkar and youth leader Kanhaiya Kumar, journalist and co-founding editor of news portal, The Wire, Siddharth Varadarajan, Indian Secular Front MLA Noushad Siddiqui, social workers Saira Shah Halim and Prasenjit Basu, among others.

Addressing the gathering, Salim spoke on criticised the Chief Minister who, he said, had asked Waqf Bill protesters “to go to New Delhi for protests”. “On the other side, in West Bengals’ Matigara, some minority community persons were attacked for carrying meat,” he pointed out.

On the nature of attacks on the Constitution, Salim, former Lok Sabha MP, said India’s Constitution starts with phrase “We the people” and harps on “unity in diversity” concept and equal rights for every section of the population. “However, the RSS-BJP are trying to impose standardisation of food habits and clothes on the people of the country. Recently, in Matigara of North Bengal, those who attacked some persons for carrying of meat, may tomorrow attack commoners for carrying fish and eggs, the staple diet of the Bengalis,” he said.

Salim highlighted how in many parts of the country, Bengalis were being “singled out and touted as Bangladeshis”. He rued the fact that by decrying the “unity in diversity” concept, the country's unity cannot be bolstered, adding that the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) never accepted the Constitution that champions this concept.

CPI(ML) Libertation leader Dipankar Bhattacharya said discontent against TMC (Trinamoll Congress)-run government in West Bengal was on a rise and if a ‘Third Front’ is not constituted, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) coming to power in Bengal was only a test of time.

Eminent journalist Siddharth Varadarajan cited examples of professors being detained in the country for daring to speak against war-mongering on social media. “Many of us have the courage to express our opinion, but as a consequence what will happen to us is not known, as the concept of freedom of speech has been dangerously curtailed in contemporary India,” he said, adding that the “uncertainty stems from a fearful atmosphere, which is a direct attack on the right to free speech.”

Congress youth leader Kanhaiya Kumar said those who once sat centre-stage talking of protecting the Constitution were now ready to break it. “Even if we are singled out and become solitary figures, we should continue speaking against this.”

Congress leader Subhankar Sarkar and ISF leader Noushad Siddiqui alleged that the land mafia’s interest was behind the Wakf Amendment Act. Social worker Saira Shah Halim also led a scathing attack on the BJP government for carrying on attacks on the lives of common people and adopting a divisive policy to “downplay their mischievous intentions.”