NDA govt has put Constitution in danger, claims Rahul Gandhi; Amit Shah says Congress resorting to old theatrics

Congress president Rahul Gandhi attacked the Narendra Modi government at the party’s ‘Save the Constitution’ rally at the Talkatora Stadium in Delhi on Monday. [caption id=“attachment_4442449” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Congress president Rahul Gandhi speaking at party’s ‘Save the Constitution’ rally in Delhi. Image Courtesy: @INCIndia[/caption] Rahul said that “Our institutions were gifted to us by our Constitution. The Modi Govt is now destroying these institutions by appointing RSS ideologues to occupy important positions. We will never allow the BJP and RSS to destroy our Constitution. The people of India will speak their ‘Mann ki Baat’ in 2019. The BJP-RSS combine is set to dismantle the social security available for SCs, STs and other weaker sections. The RSS ideology attacks the basic structure of the Indian Constitution. This will be countered by the Congress.” He criticised Modi by alleging that the prime minister is interested only in himself, adding that Modi’s only focus is on electoral victory. “In his book Karmayog, Modi justifies manual scavenging by calling it a ‘spiritual experience’ for the Valmiki community. This speaks volumes about his anti-Dalit mindset,” Rahul said, “The Congress will stand together to protect the interests of Dalits and other weaker sections of the society wherever the BJP and RSS attacks them.” He also said that Modi is afraid of facing him in the Parliament. “Look at Nirav Modi, Vijay Mallya and Rafale scams; Modi_ji_ is scared to address the Parliament. Let me have a face-to-face debate with Modi in Parliament on Rafale. He cannot face me even for 15 minutes. Modi is afraid of speaking in Parliament,” he went on to add. Speaking in the light of Congress’ impeachment motion against Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, Rahul said that “People have lost their faith in the judiciary… For the first time, it’s the Supreme Court judges who are asking for justice from the public. The Supreme Court is being pressured and destroyed. Our institutions were gifted to us by our Constitution. The Modi government is now destroying these institutions by appointing RSS ideologues to occupy important positions,” he said. Rahul targeted the NDA government for snatching scholarships from Dalits and Adivasis. “You destroyed small businesses and farmers. Now farmers only stare at suicide,” he alleged. He also accused the BJP of perpetrating crime against women. “Modi’s earlier slogan was ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’. Now, the new slogan is only ‘Beti Bachao and Bacho from BJP MLAs’.” “The entire world thought India’s richness lies in its diversity. They thought India’s Constitution, institutions, the Supreme Court had a lot of value and looked up to us. When I was in South Africa, they said India guides them. But this reputation has been destroyed by BJP. Now rapes of minors, attacks on minorities, Dalit atrocities and so on. They have wasted our efforts of 70 years,” Rahul said, while mentioning how Modi has “tarnished India’s image” in the four years of his governance. Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Amit Shah came out with a scathing reply to Rahul’s speech. Shah wrote in a Facebook post , “Mr Rahul Gandhi and his party should stop their theatrics and aggression at the earliest. It is becoming increasingly clear that their Modi hatred is fast turning into India hatred. Blinded by disdain for the prime minister, they are using the choicest of words and phrases to show India in bad light.” Blaming the Congress for raising questions on the sanctity of constitutional bodies, Shah wrote that “those who do not trust the army, the judiciary, the Supreme Court, the Election Commission, EVMs, the RBI are now saying ‘democracy is in danger’!”