Nothing but hypocrisy: Mamata on govt's call for 'Samvidhan Hatya Divas'

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday strongly criticised the BJP-led Union government’s decision to observe 25 June as ‘Samvidhaan Hatya Divas’, calling it a mockery of democracy and the Constitution.

She also accused the saffron party of consistently attacking democratic institutions and undermining the very Constitution it now claims to uphold.

Announcing that her government would not observe Samvidhaan Hatya Divas (Constitution murder day), Banerjee said, "This is nothing but hypocrisy. Those who don't respect the Constitution are now talking about upholding its morality. It is a mockery.”

The Centre had declared in 2024 that 25 June would be marked annually as 'Constitution murder day' to commemorate the imposition of Emergency in 1975, widely regarded as a dark phase in the history of Indian democracy.

“We can observe Samvidhaan Hatya Divas every day, given the way the BJP is trying to change and undermine the Constitution,” said Banerjee, also the Trinamool Congress supremo.

Slamming the BJP over what she termed its undemocratic practices, Banerjee asked whether the "toppling" of democratically elected governments in Maharashtra and Bihar by the BJP was not an attack on the Constitution.

Accusing the saffron party of weakening democratic checks and balances, she alleged that the BJP has ensured that all the pillars of democracy, be it the Election Commission or the media, are compromised.

“We don’t want to hear lectures on democracy from those who are bulldozing democracy and the federal structure (of the country) every day,” Banerjee added.

She also targeted the Centre over its alleged economic mismanagement through decisions such as “demonetisation”.

“The manner in which they destroyed the country's economy in the name of demonetisation, 8 November should also be observed as ‘Economy Destruction Day’,” she said.

In a dig at the central leadership, Banerjee questioned, “Who is the prime minister of the country, Narendra Modi or Amit Shah? It looks like Amit Shah is running the country.”