Bangalore: Union minister Anant Kumar Hegde on Sunday questioned the "parentage" of "secularists" and hinted at future changes to the Constitution that describes India as a "secular" republic, prompting the Congress and social activists to call for his sacking.
"Those claiming to be secularists lack clarity on their parentage," the BJP politician from Karnataka told an event organised by a parivar-affiliated body of young Brahmins in Koppal, 360km from here.
"I'm happy if people identify themselves as Christian, Muslim, Brahmin, Lingayat or Hindu, but I have a problem if someone says he's 'secular'. I want people to identify with their religion or caste rather than promote secularism."
The minister for skill development and entrepreneurship added: "I respect the Constitution but it has changed with the times. It will change in the future too."
State BJP spokesperson Vaman Acharya attributed Hegde's remarks to his individual style and refused to disown them.
"Sometimes punch lines are needed. To what extent you should go depends on the individual. He has always been sharp in his comments," Acharya told The Telegraph.
While CPM student wing SFI demonstrated against Hegde's remarks in Koppal on Sunday, the outcry grew louder on Monday with the Congress protesting across the state.
"He (Hegde) lacks culture and has always been a Manuvadi (supporter of the caste hierarchy). He has no idea about our Constitution, and now wants to change it," chief minister P.C. Siddaramaiah said.
Rudrappa Lamani, state minister for temple affairs, said Hegde "must be admitted to a mental asylum" and urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to sack him "immediately".
Well-known "rationalist" scholar K.S. Bhagawan, who has received death threats for questioning Hindu beliefs, too demanded that Hegde be sacked for "insulting the Constitution".
"His utterances are part of the BJP's hidden agenda of dividing people on the lines of religion and caste and reinstalling the chaturvarna (four-fold caste system) with Brahmins on top," he said.
Actor Prakash Raj, a staunch critic of the BJP, too slammed Hegde for questioning the parentage of those who adhere to secularism.
Narendra Nayak, president of the Federation of Indian Rationalist Associations, said: "He (Hegde) should at least know that the number of secularists is rising by the day as people are getting fed up with communal elements."
In a statement, the federation said: "It is tragic that such a person is a minister in the central government which has come to power using constitutional rights and he talks of negating it. If he went by his (Brahmin) ancestry, he would have been a priest in a temple somewhere and not a minister, which he is today."
Mysore police had booked Hegde earlier this month for calling Siddaramaiah a "bootlicker". Last month, Hegde had castigated the Karnataka government for celebrating Tipu Jayanti and said the state would soon start celebrating "Ajmal Kasab Jayanti".
