Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday accused the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of lacking the courage to amend the Constitution, despite “making noise” about it.
Addressing a gathering in Mumbai after leading the Nyay Sankalp Padyatra from Mani Bhavan to August Kranti Maidan, he asserted that the truth and the support of the people were on his side. Mani Bhavan was Mahatma Gandhi’s home in Mumbai, and August Kranti Maidan is where the Quit India Movement started in 1942, during India’s struggle for Independence from British rule.
The Wayanad MP’s statement comes in response to recent remarks by BJP MP Anantkumar Hegde, who stated that his party required a two-thirds majority in both Houses of Parliament to rectify what he termed as distortions and unnecessary additions made to the Constitution by the Congress.
“The BJP makes a lot of noise, but it does not have enough courage to change the Constitution. Truth and the people’s support are on our side,” the Congress leader said.
Clash of ideologies
Mr. Gandhi said that the ongoing battle went beyond political affiliations, portraying it as a clash of ideologies between the centralisation of power and decentralisation, with an emphasis on amplifying the voices of the people. The current fight was between two “expressions”, not just between the BJP and the Congress, he said.
The former Congress president criticised the BJP’s perceived consolidation of knowledge and authority, juxtaposing it with his party’s value for diverse perspectives, encompassing those of farmers, labourers, and youth.
“If a person holds an IIT degree, it does not make him or her more knowledgeable than a farmer. But the BJP does not function like this. [Prime Minister Narendra] Modi and the RSS have a vision that knowledge lies with one person... [To them,] farmers, labourers, and the unemployed youth have no knowledge,” he added.
On Saturday, Mr. Gandhi concluded his 63-day-long Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Mumbai, paying homage to B.R. Ambedkar at his memorial ‘Chaityabhoomi,’ and reading the Preamble of the Constitution.
