Congress fighting to save Constitution: Rahul Gandhi

Mumbai: A day after the BJP asked the Election Commission (EC) to censure Rahul Gandhi from handing out lies during campaigning, the Congress leader on Tuesday intensified his attack claiming the saffron party and its parent organisation RSS were working round-the-clock to finish off the Constitution.

“The BJP, RSS and (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi continuously attack and attempt to dismantle the Constitution given by Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, while Congress fights to protect it,” Gandhi said speaking at a rally at Gondia in eastern Maharashtra ahead of the Vidhan Sabha elections in the state.

“The Constitution of the country embodies values that have stood for thousands of years, representing the thoughts of Lord Buddha, Sant Basaveshwara, Mahatma Phule, Mahatma Gandhi, Dr Ambedkar and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. This Constitution represents equality, love and respect for all religions. But Narendra Modi criticizes after a red-coloured constitution is shown,” the Congress leader added.

Mr. Gandhi said that he can tell with ‘guarantee’ that Mr. Modi has not read the Constitution, otherwise he would have respected what is written in it. Today there is democracy in India because of the Constitution written by Dr. Ambedkar, he said.

“Mr. Modi often claims he belongs to the OBC community, yet continuously disrespects it. Despite OBCs constituting 50 percent of the population, the Modi government allocates only five percent of funds to them, which is a true insult to the community. This is why Congress is determined to conduct a caste-based census and remove the 50 percent cap on reservations,” Mr. Gandhi stated.

Claiming that Mr. Modi waived loans worth Rs 16 lakh crore for industrialists, the Congress leader questioned why farm loans were not waived off in the last 10 years. “The Prime Minister often claims that the farmer laws were introduced for the benefit of farmers. But if those black laws were indeed in the favour of farmers, why did they have to take to the streets? The BJP government fails to provide fair prices for rice, soybeans, and cotton in Maharashtra. Mr. Modi, who waived Rs 16 lakh crore in loans for a handful of industrialists, has not waived the loans of a single farmer in 11 years,” he said.

“Mr. Modi belongs to Adani and Ambani. He attended Ambani’s wedding, but I didn’t go because I belong to you,” the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha added.

On Monday, the BJP filed a written complaint at the EC saying the poll agency must “reprimand, censure, and restrain” Mr. Gandhi from “handing out lies during campaigning.”

Referring to Congress leader’s section of speech in Mumbai last week, the BJP said he had “falsely accused other states of stealing and snatching alleged opportunities from the State of Maharashtra.”

“Rahul Gandhi’s speech was full of falsehood and lies, intending to create disaffection, enmity, and ill-will between states of the Union of India. Gandhi wished to create a divide between the people of Maharashtra and other states. He has been consistently making false, unverified and baseless allegations against the BJP... solely to achieve electoral gains in the election in Maharashtra,” the BJP complained.