The Rajya Sabha was rocked by controversy on Tuesday as BJP members accused the Congress of removing 22 illustrations, including those of Lord Ram, Lord Krishna and the Gurukul system, from reprinted copies of the Constitution when it was in power.

BJP member Radha Mohan Das Agrawal raised the issue during Zero Hour, claiming that these illustrations were part of the original Constitution signed by the founding members. However, he argued, they were omitted in the reprints of the Constitution.

“When a student goes to market to buy a book of the Indian Constitution, he does not get the copy of the original Constitution on which the founders had signed. For some reason, some portions of the original Constitution have been removed later even though no amendment has been made in Parliament,” Agrawal said.

He added that the Constituent Assembly had invited artist Nandalal Bose and asked him to make illustrations to reflect the ethos of the Constitution. “These illustrations included the Mohenjo-daro seal which was dropped by these people (the Congress). The return of Lord Ram to Ayodhya was illustrated and that has been removed. Lord Krishna’s sermon on the battlefield was illustrated and that was removed,” he said.

He added that there were illustrations of Lord Mahavir, emperor Vikramaditya, Mahatma Gandhi, RaniLaxmibai, Shivaji, the Himalaya in the north and theocean in the south andNetaji Subhas Chandra Bose.

Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge said the Treasury benches were raising an unnecessary issue and accused them of misrepresenting facts. Trinamool Congress leader Derek O’Brien said the e-copy of the Constitution available on the computers provided to the Rajya Sabha members inside the House did not have the illustrations either.

Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar asked the government to ensure reprints of the Constitution by any publisher must carry all the illustrations. Within an hour, the Rajya Sabha carried out the corrections and made available e-copies of the Constitution with all the illustrations.

“I am categorical that the Constitution signed by the founding fathers, carrying 22 miniatures, is the only authentic one and it can include amendments by Parliament. If there is any change effected by the judiciary or any institution, it is not acceptable to this House,” Dhankhar said.

“I will appeal to the leader of the House to ensure that in the country only the authentic version of the Indian Constitution be promulgated. Any violation of this should be taken quite seriously by the government and severe action taken,” he said.

Leader of the House and BJP president J.P. Nadda showed a “copy” of the original Constitution in the House, stating that there were 22 illustrations. He said these illustrations portrayed the cultural journey of the nation. The Congress members then staged a walkout. Kharge took to X to say that the 22 illustrations in the Constitution were made by Nandalal Bose on the request of Mahatma Gandhi.

Y.S. Alone, a professor at the School of Arts and Aesthetics at Jawaharlal Nehru University with a research interest in popular visual culture and ancient Indian art, said: “The illustrations were never part of the agenda for discussion in the Constituent Assembly. The Constituent Assembly discussed the national flag and the national emblem only. These illustrations were added after the making of the Constitution. The interim government formed by the Congress added these illustrations.”