In a charged appeal, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday used contrast to provoke reflection as he addressed the public in his constituency of Uttar Pradesh's Raebareli — asking an applauding crowd about the silence they serve when the “Constitution is torn”.
Attacking the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its ideological parent RSS, Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday told the public event, “Constitution carries your voice and your blood” and “protecting it is your duty and your responsibility”. He called upon people to describe Prime Minister Narendra Modi, home minister Amit Shah and the RSS as “traitors”.
He was addressing a 'Bahujan Swabhiman Sabha' in Raebareli, in memory of revolutionary Veera Pasi who belonged to the district.
“You all are clapping... but when RSS members tear and throw away this Constitution right in front of you, you remain silent. I want to tell you that this Constitution carries your voice and your blood. Protecting and saving it is your duty and your responsibility,” Rahul Gandhi said.
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Invoking Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent public appeal of avoiding foreign travel, Rahul Gandhi said the PM “tells you not to travel abroad. He tells you not to buy gold. He tells you to buy electric vehicles. In the coming times, farmers may not even have fertilizer available.”
{{/usCountry}}Invoking Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent public appeal of avoiding foreign travel, Rahul Gandhi said the PM “tells you not to travel abroad. He tells you not to buy gold. He tells you to buy electric vehicles. In the coming times, farmers may not even have fertilizer available.”
{{/usCountry}}"An economic storm is approaching," Rahul Gandhi warned.
"You will see in just a few months, where inflation will go, where petrol prices go, where diesel prices go, where gas prices go. The Prime Minister openly says, 'do not buy gold, do not travel abroad,’ and then himself travels abroad in aircraft worth thousands of crores of rupees. And you people remain silent,” Gandhi said.
Rahul Gandhi was referring to PM Modi's ongoing five-nation tour, as part of which has visited the UAE, Netherlands, Sweden, Norway and is now on the last leg in Italy.
Rahul's traitor remark on Modi, Shah and RSS
Expressing gratitude over the turnout amid intensely hot weather, Rahul Gandhi said, “You have come from far away places despite the heat. But when you return home, and when these RSS workers come before you and talk about Narendra Modi and Amit Shah, then tell them openly that your Prime Minister is a traitor, your home minister is a traitor, and your organisation is a traitor.”
"Tell them that they have worked to sell out India, that they have attacked our institutions, attacked our Constitution, attacked Dr. Ambedkar, attacked Veera Pasi, and attacked Mahatma Gandhi."
The Constitution of India has become one of the main elements of the Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition's speeches and pitches against Congress rival BJP, which he says has destroyed the values of the document.
Rahul Gandhi said the Constitution is under attack and called it a document that represents the voices of Dr B R Ambedkar and Mahatma Gandhi that must be protected.
"While listening to other speakers, I felt that we remember Veera Pasi and Dr Ambedkar, but the ideology they stood for is not being protected properly because, in front of our eyes, an attack is being made on the Constitution," PTI news agency quoted Gandhi as saying.
The Congress leader said the Constitution is not an ordinary document, but one that carried the ideology of Ambedkar, Veera Pasi and Mahatma Gandhi, along with the contributions of several reformers such as Narayana Guru in Kerala and Basavanna in Karnataka.
Gandhi also referred to Buddha, Guru Nanak, and Kabir, saying their voices were reflected in the Constitution.