PM Modi, BJP will change Constitution: Rahul Gandhi

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi lashed out at the ruling BJP at the Centre on Saturday, alleging that it will change the Constitution if it wins the ongoing Lok Sabha polls.

Invoking Guru Nanak Dev, the former Congress chief said the first Sikh guru's message was that all people are equal and everyone should be respected, and the Constitution also says the same thing.

Addressing his first Lok Sabha poll rally in Punjab in support of Gurjeet Singh Aujla, the Congress candidate from Amritsar, Gandhi said this election is not an ordinary one.

''In this election, (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi and senior BJP leaders are attacking the Constitution. For the first time in the history of independent India, leaders have openly said they will change, scrap, finish off and dump the Constitution if they win the election,'' he said.

The Congress leader said the ongoing polls are a battle between two ideologies.

''On one side is Modi and other BJP leaders who want to do away with the Constitution and on the other hand is the Congress, which is protecting the Constitution,'' he said.

Holding a copy of the Constitution, Gandhi said ''people think that the Constitution is a 70-80-year-old book, which is right, but the thinking in the Constitution is 1,000-year-old''.

''I am in Amritsar. If you understand Guru Nanak's thinking, you will understand that the Constitution has Guru Nanak's thinking. It was inspired by Guru Nanak Dev's thinking. Not only Guru Nanak, several great people put the same thinking before the country. Be it Buddha or Narayan Guruji -- their thinking is in this book,'' he said.

Guru Nanak had said all people are equal and everyone should be respected and loved, the Congress leader said, adding that the Constitution also says the same thing.

''BJP leaders are saying they will attack Guru Nanak's thinking,'' he alleged.

Gandhi also accused Modi of doing nothing for farmers during his 10-year rule.

''You (farmers) were attacked and (the Centre) brought three black laws,'' he said, referring to the three now-repealed contentious farm laws.

When farmers protested against those laws, they were branded as ''terrorists'', Gandhi said.

He alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Centre waived the debt of Rs 16 lakh crore of 22 people but not even a single rupee of farmers was waived.

Referring to his Bharat Jodo Yatra, Gandhi said he met thousands of farmers who told him that their loans were not waived and they were not getting the right price for their produce, including potatoes and sugarcane.

They also pointed out that they did not get any compensation for crop damage as the crop insurance scheme is ''benefitting'' only big companies, he said.

The Congress leader said after the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) of opposition parties comes to power at the Centre, all farm loans will be waived.

''It will not happen only for once. We will form a group that will study the financial situation of the farmers. Whenever farmers require loan waiver in the country, the INDIA government will waive it. Not only once, but many times. We are ready to do it,'' he said.

Gandhi also promised giving a legal guarantee to the minimum support price (MSP) for crops and said a farmer-friendly insurance scheme will be launched.

Referring to Modi's reported ''sent by the god'' comment in an interview to a television channel, he said, ''The greatest people of this country never said this, but Modi feels that the god has chosen him.'' In the interview, Modi reportedly said, ''Till my mother was alive, I used to think I was born biologically. After her death, when I look at my experiences, I am convinced that I was sent by the god. This strength is not from my body. It has been given to me by the god. That is why the god has also given me the ability, strength, pure-heartedness and inspiration to do this. I am nothing but an instrument that the god has sent.'' Referring to his visit to the Golden Temple last year, Gandhi said he performed ''sewa'' (service) at the shrine. ''I got such peace after performing sewa,'' he said.

Referring to his party's Mahalakshmi scheme, the Congress leader said Modi has made 22 people ''arabpati'' and the INDIA government ''will make crores of Indians lakhpati''.

Sharing details of the scheme, he said a list of all the poor people in every state will be drawn.

''A woman from each family will be selected. On June 4, the INDIA government will be formed and we will start this work on July 4. An amount of Rs 8,500 will be transferred to the bank account of these women,'' Gandhi said.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)