Reiterating the Congress’s promise of a caste census and lifting the 50 per cent cap on reservation, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Saturday participated in the special discussion on the Constitution and hit out at the BJP and the RSS, saying that Hindutva ideologue Vinayak Damodar Savarkar had said that there was “nothing Indian about the Constitution”.
“When BJP members speak about the Constitution, they are defaming Savarkar,” he added.
Speaking in the special debate, Gandhi said: “In front of us stand people who follow a very different philosophy. I want to start my speech by quoting what the supreme leader…not of the BJP…but of the modern interpretation of the ideas of the RSS about the Constitution of India. ‘The worst thing about the Constitution is that there is nothing Indian about it. Manusmriti is that scripture which is most worship-able after Vedas of our Hindu nation… This book has for centuries codified the spiritual and divine march of our nation. Today, Manusmriti is law’. These are the words of Savarkar.”
“He (Savarkar) has clearly stated in his writing there is nothing Indian about the Constitution. He has written that our Constitution be superseded by Manusmriti. I ask do you follow this book because when you speak about the Constitution, you are defaming Savarkar,” Gandhi added.
Gandhi also said that like Dronacharya of the Mahabharata, the BJP government was chopping off the thumbs of the Indian youth, businesses, and other sections of society.
Mentioning industrialist Gautam Adani, Gandhi alleged: “When you give Dharavi to Adani ji, then you are cutting the thumbs of small businesses of Dharavi. You are doing the same by giving ports, airports to him. You are cutting the thumb of honest businesses.”
“Through lateral entry, you are cutting the thumb of youths, OBCs, and SCs. Speaker sir, the way Eklavya practised, the same way youth practise for exams. Earlier youth would wake up and train and run. When you started Agniveer, you have cut their thumbs. When you leak papers, you cut the thumb of the youths,” said Gandhi.
Referring to the Congress’s promise for a caste census, Gandhi said: “The ideology of the INDIA bloc is that we brought the Constitution and we will protect it. (Dr B R) Ambedkar ji said that if there is political equality but no social equality, then political equality will be destroyed. Political and social equality are over. Financial and economic equality is also over. Hence, our next step will be a caste census. We want to show the people whose thumbs have been chopped.”
Gandhi also said that the “50 per cent cap on reservation will be lifted”. “I had promised a caste census, and it will be done, and a new kind of development will be done. We will break the wall of 50 per cent reservation. You can do what you want to do,” he said.
Gandhi’s remarks on reservation came a day after Union Minister Rajnath Singh, initiating the two-day discussion on the Constitution of India in Lok Sabha, had said the Congress should bring “a blueprint on how much reservation you want to offer to which caste”.
Gandhi also mentioned his recent visit to Hathras where he met the family of the Dalit gangrape victim, and said that “they are not allowed to leave their house, while the accused roam free and threaten the victim’s family on a daily basis”.
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