Union law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Thursday invoked Hindu gods and gurus featuring in the original manuscript of Indian Constitution to suggest the extent of 'minority appeasement' and 'pseudo secularism' prevalent in the country.

Addressing a seminar at the India International Centre where former chief justices, ex-diplomats, constitutional experts and lawyers were part of the panel, he said original manuscript of the Indian constitution had pictures of several Hindu gods and idols like Ram, Krishna, Arjun Nataraja, Vivekananda and Guru Gobind Singh. He said if the constitution was drafted today, one wondered the pictures would have been allowed on its pages. "Where has this country gone? We will have to reflect. I am only trying to provoke a debate", he said.

"Today is the birthday of Swami Vivekananda. I would request all of them sitting here to have a look at the original constitution. When the constitution was being conceived, a debate arose if it should be plain or there should be more in it to show the world that India has arrived and Nandlal Bose was commissioned by drafting committee members Nehru, Mauilana Azad and Ambedkar to beautify and decorate it", he said.

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"Atop the page on fundamental rights we have a visual of Rama, Sita and Lakshmana returning to Ayodhya after the victory in Lanka?the page on directive principles of state policy had another of Krishna propounding the Gita to Arjuna at the Kurukshetra. There are also scenes from the courts of Ashoka and Vikramaditya," he said.

"This question troubles me sir and I am asking if the constitution was framed today and the constituent assembly resolves that we will have such pictures what will happen? We will have to reflect where we have come along. India is a democracy not because democracy is a form mentioned in the constitution but because the cultural and civilization heritage also sanctioned democracy," he said.

'WILL WORK WITH CJI TO ADDRESS JUDICIARY'S CONCERNS'

On the burning issue of justice delivery getting effected due to shortage of judges, Prasad hoped the concerns regarding appointments and infrastructure would be addressed expeditiously", adding, "I can tell you now that with the leadership of Justice Khehar as the new Chief Justice, we will be able to work together in a very meaningful way to address the concerns in judiciary, to expedite appointments, to ensure people of merit are appointed and also overall reinforce infrastructure needed for justice delivery".

"We have made 126 appointments, the highest since 1990, and in high courts about 131 additional judges have been confirmed," Prasad said a day after Chief Justice Khehar said the shortfall in the number of judges was affecting work. He said in terms of fundamental duties, justice delivery is integral to good governance. Therefore, justice delivery has to be faster, expeditious and also to be delivered in the spirit of integrity and accountability.

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