Former cabinet minister Michael Gove has accused the SNP of ignoring fresh powers to manoeuvre towards another referendum.
The prominent Leave campaigner, who was born and raised in Scotland, questioned the SNP's record on education, among other things, suggesting the party's focus was on "a generation of grievance and the creation of division".
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SNP MPs demanded a fresh look at the Scottish constitution in the wake of the Brexit vote during a Westminster Hall debate.
They said the UK leaving the European Union could potentially be grounds for another referendum on Scottish independence.
But former justice secretary Mr Gove claimed the SNP is more interested in "manufacturing grievance" than tackling issues through the Scottish Parliament.
He said the gap in educational attainment between rich and poor had grown wider under the SNP.
Mr Gove also accused the SNP of "lacking imagination" when it came to potential new powers over farming and fisheries that it could grasp once Britain leaves the European Union.
Mr Gove said: "What we've had is an attempt to use this vote to manufacture grievance, rather than ask what is in the best interest of the Scottish people.
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"The SNP says the Scottish people can decide on any constitution they like - provided they choose independence.
"Powers that existed before the vote and the Scotland Act was passed, and powers that are now conferred on Holyrood, are not being used by the Scottish government.
"A focus on the constitution, a generation of grievance and the creation of division trumps the cause of good government."
He also claimed Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson was now the most popular politician in Scotland - and the SNP was heading towards "a slow, gentle and irreversible decline".
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Patrick Grady, SNP MP for Glasgow North, defended the SNP's record, saying hundreds of millions of pounds of investment was planned in education and healthcare.
He said policies such as renewing Trident and the so-called bedroom tax were being foisted on Scotland despite their unpopularity.
Mr Grady added that "none of the promises had been kept" from the referendum campaign to ensure more powers would pass to Holyrood.
"Brexit means the UK will leave the European Union, but that is not what people in Scotland voted for either in 2014 or 2016," said Mr Grady.
"The Scottish government and the Scottish Parliament must ultimately reserve the right to hold another referendum on independence for Scotland, if it becomes clear that the best or only way for Scotland to remain in the EU is for Scotland to become an independent member."
The debate saw a fresh examination of the Claim of Right for Scotland.
This landmark agreement has roots in the 17th century and helped pave the way for devolution via an agreed set of principles in 1989.
However, the SNP claim there is still a democratic deficit in Scottish affairs, despite this agreement.
"The Scottish Parliament is one of the most powerful devolved parliaments in the world," said Ian Murray (Labour, Edinburgh South).
"They should look back at that claim of right and say we were elected to deliver for the Scottish people, with a powerful Scottish Parliament, and get on with the day job they were elected to do.
"But every single day since the polls closed on the 19th of September 2014, the SNP have looked for any single trigger whatsoever to get a different result.
"Because the UK have turned away from a market that's worth £12 billion to the Scottish economy and 250,000 jobs, the solution to that is to turn away from another union which has a million jobs and £50 billion worth of trading?
"That is surely not in the best interests of the Scottish people.
"The obsession with the constitution is destabilising Scotland, and it's making the uncertainty around Scottish business and Scottish civic society polarised."
But Deidre Brock, SNP MP for Edinburgh North and Leith, said Scotland had been "untimely ripped" from the European Union because of Brexit, with 62% of its population having voted to Remain.
She added: "The democratic deficit remains stark, real and unrelenting.
"The condition that necessitated the claim of the right and the creation of a devolved administration and parliament in Edinburgh remain.
"There is but one answer that will address that deficit and meet Scotland's needs. One simple, elegant solution - the dissolution of the UK, Scottish independence, and the creation of good neighbours as separate nations."
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