Shiv Sena today asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to make taking oath on Constitution mandatory, replacing the holy books, so that the country can be pulled out of the tentacles of “religion-based politics.”

“The Constitution should be the sacred book for (people of) all religions. All religions are equal before law and this was what late Bal Thackeray said,” an editorial in Sena mouthpiece Saamana said.

“All are equal before law but the Constitution is supreme before the law,” the editorial said.

“Let people swear by the Constitution in courts instead of religious holy books,” the Sena said.

“Modi has said it will be suicidal to think of replacing the Constitution given by Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar. The PM also said the Constitution is a holy book.

“He should now extend that thought and pull out the country from tentacles of religion based politics,” the Sena said.

It was referring to Prime Minister’s address in the Lok Sabha as part of the commemoration of the Constitution to mark the 125th birth anniversary year of the chairman of its drafting committee B R Ambedkar.

Asserting his government’s commitment to the Constitution, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday that the religion of the government was “India first” and the Constitution its “holy book”.