PM Narendra Modi accuses 4 generations of Gandhi family of ‘destroying' Constitution

PM Narendra Modi also attacked Rahul Gandhi for tearing apart a copy of an ordinance brought by the Manmohan Singh government in 2013.

Updated on: May 17, 2024, 09:22:35 IST

By HT News Desk

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday slammed the Congress and the Gandhi family for amending the Constitution during their tenure at the Centre. In an interview, he claimed four generations of the Gandhi family tinkered with the Constitution.

PM Narendra Modi gesturers to supporters during a campaign rally in Mumbai, on May 15. (Bloomberg)

Asked about the Opposition's allegation that the BJP plans to change the Constitution if it gets 400 Lok Sabha seats, PM Modi said it was Jawaharlal Nehru who brought the first amendment. He said Nehru brought the amendment to curb freedom of speech. He said Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi overturned court verdicts.

"The question that should be asked- who was the first to play with the Constitution? Pandit Nehru did. He brought the first amendment which was meant to restrict freedom of speech. His daughter (Indira Gandhi) then overturned the court verdict by bringing an amendment. Then her son (Rajiv Gandhi) came and overturned Shah Bano's verdict. He changed the Constitution," he told India Today.

PM Modi also attacked Rahul Gandhi for tearing apart a copy of an ordinance brought by the Manmohan Singh government in 2013. He said the Gandhi family was running the government from remote control.

"Then his son (Rahul Gandhi) came, a remote control government was being run at that time, they had a PM of their choice. A Cabinet formed as per the Constitution took a decision, a Shehzada came and publicly tore apart the cabinet decision. Later the Cabinet also overturned its decision," he added.

PM Modi said four members of the same family destroyed the Constitution at different times. He vowed that he will not allow them to change the fundamentals of the Constitution.

"I won't allow reservation based on religion, you already partitioned a country on the basis of religion," he added.

The Opposition claims the Modi government wants to change the Constitution. The BJP says the Congress will snatch away the reservation quota of SC, ST and OBC communities, and hand it over to Muslims.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday said that if the Bharatiya Janata Party wins the upcoming Lok Sabha elections and tries to change the Constitution, the whole nation will be set on fire.

"If the BJP wins these match-fixed elections, and changes the Constitution, the whole country will be on fire. Remember this," Rahul Gandhi said at an election rally in Delhi.

With inputs from ANI

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HT News Desk
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