Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made up his mind that if the BJP wins the Lok Sabha elections, they will “tear up and throw away” the Constitution, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said in Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday.
“The Prime Minister, [Union Home Minister] Amit Shah and various of their MPs have made up their mind that if they win the elections, they will tear up and throw away this book,” Mr. Gandhi said, holding a copy of the Constitution, as he addressed an election rally in the Bhind Lok Sabha constituency in the Gwalior-Chambal region.
“This is the fight. Whatever growth has happened in the nation, whatever the poor have gotten whether it is MGNREGA, Land Acquisition Bill, white revolution, will all vanish. The BJP wants this book to be thrown away and the nation is run by 20-25 billionaires,” he said.
The Congress leader said all the rights to the people from reservation to public sector companies were because of the Constitution.
“The democracy that has given voice to the poor, Dalits, backwards, tribals and the poor general caste, all this will end if this book is finished,” he added.
Mr. Gandhi, who has been alleging that the ruling BJP wants to end the reservation, asked if the BJP was not against it then why was it privatising the public sector units (PSUs), railways and other sectors.
Agnipath Scheme
The Congress leader also hit out at the BJP-led Centre over the Agnipath Scheme for recruitment in the armed forces.
“Imagine sending two people to war, telling one of them that if anything happens to you, we will protect your family. And they are telling the other jawan, if anything happens to you, you will not get any pension or help. You will not even get the status of martyr. Modi ji has insulted the Army” said Mr. Gandhi, as he targeted the youth of the Gwalior-Chambal region.
The region, which has a significant number of aspirants to the forces, had seen massive protests against the Agnipath Scheme when it was launched in 2022.
The Congress has fielded MLA Phool Singh Baraiya from Bhind against the BJP’s sitting MP and candidate Sandhya Rai.
Apart from Bhind, Mr. Gandhi’s rally is likely to have an impact on two neighbouring seats — Morena and Gwalior of the Gwalior-Chambal region.
All these seats will go to polls in the third phase on May 7.
Published - May 01, 2024 12:35 am IST
