Bhind (MP), Apr 30: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday warned that if the BJP returns to power at the Centre, it will “tear apart” and “throw away” the Constitution which granted rights to the poor, Dalits, scheduled tribes and other backward classes.
Addressing an election rally in Madhya Pradesh's Bhind district, Gandhi, while holding a copy of the Constitution, said the ongoing Lok Sabha poll is not a normal political event, but a fight between two ideologies.
The Congress's star campaigner noted that only rich people and celebrities, and not poor labourers or farmers, were present during the January 22 idol consecration ceremony at the Ram temple in Ayodhya.
The opposition MP said his party and its INDIA bloc allies are fighting to save the Constitution.
Before Independence and drafting of the Constitution, the poor, Dalits, tribals, backwards and farmers did not have any rights and they were bestowed on them when the statute book came into force in 1950, he pointed out.
Gandhi cautioned that if the BJP is elected to power again, the rights enjoyed by the poor, tribals and Dalits will no longer be in force and schemes like MGNREGA, land rights, reservation, pension and other welfare measures, too, will disappear.
“Now, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and their MPs have made up their mind that if they get elected, they will tear apart and throw this (Constitution) book. The BJP wants this book to be thrown away and only 20 to 25 billionaires should run the country,” the Wayanad MP claimed.
The Congress's star campaigner pointed out that the Constitution gave voice to Dalits, tribals, backward sections and the poor people belonging to other castes.
Top BJP leaders have already openly declared that if their party wins the elections, they will change the revered document, he charged.
“This (Constitution) is the soul of the poor and no one can touch it. No power in the world can change it. These BJP people are dreaming. The Congress, along with B R Ambedkar and the countrymen, fought against the British and drafted the Constitution, which is the voice of India,” Gandhi noted.
He also targeted the BJP government over the issue of reservation in jobs and education for underprivileged sections of society.
