Ananth Kumar Hegde apologises, says 'constitution is supreme to me'

Amid uproar in Parliament over Ananth Kumar Hegde's remark on the Constitution, the Union Minister on Thursday apologised for his comments and said the Constitution and Parliament are supreme to him.

The Lok Sabha witnessed an uproar on Wednesday over Union minister Ananth Kumar Hegde's controversial remarks on secularism and the Constitution.

"Regarding the deadlock in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha due to my statement, I want to assure my friends that constitution is supreme to me, Parliament is supreme to me..I deeply respect the Constitution, the Parliament and Baba Saheb Ambedkar. The Constitution is supreme for me, there can be no question on it, as a citizen I can never go against it," Hegde said on Thursday.

The leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge objected to Hegde's clarification, following which the minister said, "If anyone was hurt by my statements I tender an apology."

Meanwhile, the Congress leaders staged a protest in front of Mahatma Gandhi's statue in Parliament over Hegde's remarks and demanded his ouster from the cabinet.

Hegde, the Minister of State for Skill Development, had reportedly said people should identify themselves by their religions and "those who, without knowing about their parental blood, call themselves secular, they don't have their own identity...They don't know about their parentage." He had also said, "we are here to change the Constitution and we'll change it."

OneIndia News