Modi, Shah bent on doing away with Constitution: Rahul

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made up his mind that if the BJP wins the Lok Sabha election, 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 MPs of theirs 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 while addressing a rally in Bhind Lok Sabha constituency in the Gwalior-Chambal region.

“This is the ‹ght. Whatever growth has happened in the nation, whatever the poor have gotten whether its under MGNREGA, Land Acquisition Bill, white revolution, will all vanish. The BJP wants this book to be thrown away and the nation to be run by 20-25 billionaires,” he said, adding that all of people’s rights such as reservation are due to 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 ‹nished,” he added.

Mr. Gandhi, who has been alleging that the BJP wants to end the reservation, asked if the BJP is not against it then why is it privatising the PSUs, Railways

and other sectors. He 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 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. Modiji has insulted the Army,” said Mr. Gandhi as he targeted the youth of the Gwalior-Chambal region. The region, which has a signi‹cant number of aspirants to the forces, had seen massive protests against the scheme.

The Congress has ‹elded MLA Phool Singh Baraiya from Bhind against BJP’s sitting MP and candidate Sandhya Rai.

Apart from Bhind, Mr. Gandhi’s rally is also likely to have an impact on two neighbouring seats — Morena and Gwalior.

PTI Congress leader Rahul Gandhi holds the Constitution at a rally in Bhind, Madhya Pradesh, on Tuesday.