NEW DELHI: Launching a frontal attack on the Modi government, senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday termed the contentious Waqf Act as an assault on the Constitution and freedom of religion.
Addressing the All India Congress Committee (AICC) meeting in Ahmedabad, the Leader of Opposition (LoP) cited a now-deleted article in the RSS-linked magazine Organiser and warned that the BJP-RSS will soon go after the rights of other minorities, such as Christians and Sikhs.
“Waqf Bill was passed by the government a few days back. It is an attack on the constitution and the freedom of religion," said Gandhi.
The leader also accused the BJP of having an ‘anti-Dalit mindset’ after its leader sprinkled Ganga water at a Ram temple in Rajasthan's Alwar to ‘purify' it following Congress's Tikaram Jully's participation in the consecration ceremony there.
“Our party’s position is that every community, religion, and language should be respected and placed in the country. It should belong to everyone," he said.
Sharpening his attack on the BJP and RSS, Gandhi said that only the Congress Party can counter them because its ideology is based on the Constitution.
“The BJP and the RSS attack the Constitution every day. This is a fight between ideologies; only the Congress Party can defeat the BJP and RSS. The parties which don’t have ideology or clarity, cannot take on the RSS and the BJP,” he said, adding that the Constitution is drawn from the ideologies of Gandhi, Ambedkar, Patel, Buddha, Narayana Guru, Guru Nanak, Kabir, and Basavanna. “ It is not just a 75-year document. It is 1000-year old thought,” he said, referring to the Constitution.
“The RSS burned the Constitution in the Ramlila ground on the day it was written. For many years, RSS didn't salute the national flag. Their Ideology is against Constitution,” said Gandhi.
Reiterating his party’s commitment to social justice, Gandhi asserted that his party would pass a law in Parliament on the caste census ‘right in front’ of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Gandhi said that PM Modi and the RSS refused the caste census because they don't want to reveal the share that minorities get in this country.
" We did something revolutionary in Telangana by conducting a caste survey. It was an eye-opener as 90 percent of the population consists of OBCs, extremely backward classes, Dalits, extremely marginalised Dalits, minorities, and Adivasis. A caste survey is only the first step. We want to know the actual population of the backward community and if they are getting their share in this country and whether they are truly respected,” he said.
The Congress MP further said that the party will remove the bar of 50 percent reservation while pushing for a caste census across the country. “We will break the wall of 50% reservation. What Telangana has done, we are going to do across the country,” he said.
Gandhi also warned that an “economic storm” is approaching and accused Modi of succumbing to pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump on the imposition of tariffs.
“Did you see the photograph of PM Modi hugging Trump? This time he ordered Modi ji that ‘we will not hug but will impose new tariffs’. PM Modi did not say a word. To divert attention from this, they ran a drama in Parliament for two days,” he said, adding, “Where is the PM hiding?”
Referring to PM Modi's recent meeting with Bangladesh's Chief Advisor Mohammad Yunus, Mr. Gandhi said the Bangladeshi leader "gives adverse remarks and the PM sat with him without uttering a word". “Where is the 56-inch chest,” Gandhi asked,
Gandhi also said that District Congress Committees and their chiefs would be empowered and strengthened so that they would act as the foundation of the organisation going forward.
"They have everything at their disposal, but we have truth and the love of the people on our side," he added.