"Unfortunate, disrespectful": Raghubar Das condemns Jharkhand Minister Hafizul Hassan's reported remarks

Jamshedpur (Jharkhand) [India], April 15 (ANI): Former Jharkhand Chief Minister and BJP leader Raghubar Das on Tuesday strongly criticised Jharkhand Minister Hafizul Hassan for his reported "Shariat first, then Constitution" remarks, terming these as "unfortunate" and "disrespectful."
The Jharkhand Minister had clarified his remarks on Monday.
"This is very unfortunate and disrespectful. When the entire country was celebrating the birth anniversary of Bharat Ratna, architect of our Constitution Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar, a state minister said that the Shariat is above Constitution. I strongly condemn this," Das said.
"Rahul Gandhi has been making an appeal of 'Samvidhan Bachao' to the people. Now, a Jharkhand Minister is disrespecting the Constitution. So, will Rahul Gandhi withdraw the support to the State government and tell that Congress won't compromise when the Constitution will be disrespected?..." he asked.
Clarifying on his controversial remarks, Hafizul Hassan said on Monday that Shariat, like other faiths, holds a place in people's hearts, but it does not supersede the Constitution.
He said his remarks had been misinterpreted.
"I did not say 'main' (I), I said 'hum' (we). Watch the full statement. I am a minister; 'hum' includes everyone. A minister believes in the Constitution and functions in accordance," he told the media.
"Shariat too has its own place. People keep Lord Hanuman in their heart...it's a way of saying. I said something similar. Everyone is distorting it and presenting it. You will find out, when you watch the entire 5-6 minutes of what I said," he clarified.
Hassan further emphasised that as a minister, he functions according to the Constitution and that his remarks had been misconstrued.
Hassan's remarks sparked a political controversy. Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal strongly condemned the alleged remarks made by the Jharkhand Minister and said he had made the remarks on Ambedkar Jayanti.
State BJP president and Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Jharkhand Assembly, Babulal Marandi, demanded an explanation from the Congress and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) over the controversial remarks of Minister Hassan. (ANI)