Ranchi: Leader of the Congress party and the Leader of the opposition in the Lower House, Rahul Gandhi, expressed aggression using strong political language against the prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP at a session of the Constitution Honour Conference in Ranchi on Saturday. Speaking to the gathering before the upcoming 2024 Jharkhand Assembly polls, Ms Gandhi claimed that the BJP is actually reducing the spirit and might of the Constitution while paying lip-service to it.
Addressing the crowd, Gandhi urged the people of the country saying that the constitution of India is in danger from various parties one of them being led by Modi and another being Home minister Amit Shah. He said his protest was not a new phenomenon but a continuation of a battle between the Constitution of India and Manusmriti.
Key Points from Rahul Gandhi’s Speech:
Constitution Under Attack: The non-violent nature of Indian civil resistance and the identity of the country’s leader, Gandhi, it is critical to assert that he stressed that the Constitution one has to respect is the one one has to fight for. He alleged that various forces have imposed an attack on constitutional provisions and Modi and Shah. It is not only Modi and Amit Shah but many forces operating to either deconstruct or emasculate the Constitution, he said.
Historical Roots of the Constitution: Elsewhere, Gandhi wondered whether icons such as Birsa Munda or Narayana Guru were ‘needed to frame the Constitution.’ The latter, he avowed, is rooted in the past: ‘7000-year-old India asks’ instead of ‘Seventy-year-old India.’
Battle Between Constitution and Manusmriti: Gandhi thus extrapolated any existing political fight in the terms of Constitution and the Manusmriti. He said, “This is an old struggle, not a new one. In a Nutshell it is the fight of the Constitution against Manusmriti and has been going on for 5000 years, at least.
Criticism of BJP’s Approach to Tribal Identity: Gandhi flayed the BJP for calling the tribal people ‘Vanvasi’ and not ‘Adivasi.’ He said that this terminology was a convene strategy by the BJP government to obliterate tribal existence and exclude them from society.
Economic Disparities and Caste Representation: Firing at economic disparities, Gandhi pointed out, India’s richest are not from Dalit, Adivasi or OBC backgrounds. “That is the same people who distribute the cake and are also the ones consuming it,” he said, making a strong point of the same people who are monopolizing the richness need to be representative of those at the periphery of Indian society.
Exclusion of Tribal President from National Events: Gandhi also protested that the country’s first tribal president, Droupadi Murmu, was not invited to the new Parliament building’s launch or to the Ram Temple’s blessing. He said, “Isn’t it an affront to the Constitution that big business leaders were invited while the tribal President wasn’t?”
Election Commission and Other Institutions Under BJP’s Control: Gandhi always claimed that the Election Commission and other agencies of the Indian Federation have not been safeguarding the Constitution of India more precisely the Forsake Indian Constitution, this he alleged since the BJP was operating these structures for its own benefits. He demanded society needs to be studied further and specifically he wants a caste based census to bring out social justice.