BJP ridiculing Savarkar when it talks of protecting Constitution: Rahul Gandhi in Lok Sabha

NEW DELHI: Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Saturday cited Hindutva idealogue V D Savarkar's criticism of the Constitution that there was "nothing Indian about it" to attack the BJP and said the ruling party is "defaming and ridiculing" its own "supreme leader" when it talks about defending the Constitution.

The BJP and the RSS are "supporters of Manusmriti" but the country will be run on the Constitution, he said.

Drawing a parallel with the story of Eklavya who had to chop off his thumb as 'Guru Dakshina' to Dronacharya, Gandhi alleged that by creation of "monopolies" for the Adani Group in various sectors, bringing in the Agnipath scheme, firing teargas at protesting farmers, bringing in lateral entry and allowing paper leaks, the government was "chopping off" the thumb of the youth, tillers, backward class people and the poor.

Participating in a debate on 75 years of the adoption of the Constitution, he used the metaphor of the thumb as a symbol of livelihood and skill.

The former Congress chief said that he wants to tell every poor person that the Constitution protects them, but the BJP keeps attacking it 24X7.

He also reiterated his promise made on the floor of the House last session that a caste census will be conducted and the 50 per cent cap on reservation will be done away with to usher in a "new type of development" in the country.

"I want to start my speech by quoting your supreme leader Savarkar and his ideas on the Constitution of India and how he thought India should be run. He says, 'The worst thing about the Constitution of India is that there is nothing Indian about it. Manusmriti is that scripture that is most worshippable after the Vedas, and which, from ancient times, had begun the basis of our culture, customs, thought, and practice. This book for centuries has codified the spiritual and divine march of our nation. Today, Manusmriti is law'," he stated.

Savarkar has clearly stated in his writings that there is nothing Indian about the Constitution and that the book that India is run by should be superseded by the Manusmriti, Gandhi said, adding that this is what the fight is about.

"It is nice that all of you are so-called defending the Constitution. But I want to ask you, do you stand by your leader's words? Do you support your leader's words? But when you speak about defending the Constitution, you are ridiculing Savarkar, you are abusing Savarkar, you are defaming Savarkar," he said.

Responding to an MP's query about what his grandmother and former prime minister Indira Gandhi thought of Savarkar, Gandhi said she told him that Savarkar had compromised with the British.

"Savarkar wrote a letter to the British and asked for forgiveness from the British," he said.

"Indira ji also said that Gandhiji went to jail, Nehru ji went to jail and Savarkar apologised," he said.

"In my first speech, I described the idea of a battle taking place. I described the Mahabharata and the Kurukshetra. There is a battle taking place today in India. And on this side (our side) are the defenders of the idea of the Constitution. We have defenders of the Constitution from each state: If you ask for Tamil Nadu, we have Periyar. If you ask for Karnataka, we have Basavanna. If you ask us about Maharashtra, we'll say Phule ji, Ambedkar ji If you ask about Gujarat, we have Mahatma Gandhi," he said.

"You praise these people hesitatingly because you have to. But the truth is you want India to be run the way it used to be run," he said.

Gandhi narrated the story of Eklavya from the epic Mahabharta and said that just like Dronacharya got Eklavya's thumb cut, this government is chopping off the thumb of the country's youth.

Referring to his visit to Uttar Pradesh's Hathras, Rahul Gandhi said he met the family of the woman who was allegedly gangraped and killed. He said the victim family is locked in the house, while the accused roam free.

"Where is this written in the Constitution that the family of the person raped be confined to a house. This would be written in your (BJP) book not in the Constitution," he said.

The INDIA bloc will facilitate the relocation of the family if the government does not do it, he added.

Gandhi also referred to the Sambhal violence, saying five innocent people lost their lives. He accused the BJP of spreading division in the society.

"It is not written anywhere in the Constitution -- to spread hatred, to make two religions fight among themselves, to commit atrocities on Dalits. This is not written anywhere in the Constitution," he said.

It's written in the Constitution that the State shall not discriminate against any citizen on the grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth, or any of them, Gandhi said.

"Some days ago, a group of young people from Sambhal came to meet me. They were innocent and had done nothing wrong. They were simply bystanders, yet five people were shot dead nearby.

"The ideology of the INDIA bloc has brought the Constitution to the country and we all together protect the Constitution," he said.

Quoting BR Ambedkar, Gandhi said, "If there is political equality but no social and economic equality, political equality will be destroyed."

He said the next step will be caste census as the Congress wants to show whose thumbs have been chopped off by the government.

Posting his speech on X, he said, "Congress and INDIA alliance are the protectors of the Constitution. BJP and RSS are supporters of Manusmriti. The country will be run by the Constitution, not by Manusmriti!"