NEW DELHI: Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said the copy of the Constitution displayed by him during public meetings appeared blank to Prime Minister Narendra Modi because “he has never read it”.
Addressing a rally in Maharashtra’s Nandurbar, the senior Congress leader said the Constitution is the soul of India and reflects the values championed by national icons like Birsa Munda, BR Ambedkar and Mahatma Gandhi.
“The BJP has objections to the red colour of the book,” Rahul said, referring to the red-covered Constitution he has been displaying at rallies. “But we don’t care if it’s red or blue. We are committed to safeguarding it, even if we have to lay down our lives for it. Modiji thinks the Constitution I carry is blank because he has never read it,” Gandhi said.
“But Modiji, this book is not empty. It carries the soul and wisdom of India. It enshrines the values of national heroes like Birsa Munda, Buddha, Mahatma Phule, Ambedkar and Mahatma Gandhi. If you call this book empty, you insult these icons,” the Lok Sabha LoP added.
Rahul said the Congress party was committed to ensuring that adivasis (tribals), Dalits and backward classes have a larger role in the nation’s decision-making processes. He criticised the BJP and RSS for referring to adivasis as “vanvasis” (forest dwellers), instead of the more appropriate “adivasis” (original inhabitants), a term he said better represented their rights and heritage.