Subodh.Ghildiyal
New Delhi: Seeking to corner BJP over its strong championing of the Constitution during a discussion on Constitution in Parliament, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said the saffron party's "supreme leader" — V D Savarkar — had termed ‘Manusmriti' better than the Constitution and asked if BJP wasn't mocking him by praising Ambedkar and the Constitution.
Rahul peppered his remarks in Lok Sabha with the legend of Eklavya being forced to chop off his thumb. Likening Eklavya's thumb to his craft, and aspiration, Rahul said BJP "is out to cut the thumb of the entire country" — youth, entrepreneurs, SC, ST, OBCs, farmers, and minorities.
He also took up the case of Sambhal Muslims killed in police firing and accused BJP of spreading hatred, and said the Hathras rape victim's family is being threatened by the perpetrators who are roaming freely.
In his just under half an hour speech on the 75-year journey of the Constitution, Rahul said the Constitution is a modern document, but it has the voice of ancient India comprising wisdom of philosophers like Basavanna, Mahavir, Phule, Ambedkar and Kabir.
But, quoting the Hindutva icon, he said, "Your supreme leader Savarkar says, ‘The worst thing about the Constitution of India is that there is nothing Indian about it. Manusmriti is that scripture that is most worshippable after the Vedas, and which, from ancient times, had been the basis of our culture, customs, thought, and practice. This book for centuries has codified the spiritual and divine march of our nation. Today, Manusmriti is law'."
Rahul asked, "Do you (BJP) support your leader's words? But when you speak about defending the Constitution, you are ridiculing Savarkar, you are abusing Savarkar, you are defaming Savarkar."
As he framed the Mahabharat battle in Kurushektra in these days as "Constitution vs Manusmriti", Rahul said the INDIA bloc represents the defenders of the Constitution. "You (BJP-RSS) praise these people (Ambedkar etc) hesitatingly because you have to. But the truth is you want India to be run the way it used to be run," he said.
Elaborating on the Eklavya metaphor, Rahul said the thumb of youth is cut through paper leaks and Agniveer scheme, the thumb of fair businessmen is chopped off by giving Dharavi, ports, airports, defence industry, to Adani and Ambani. He said backward classes are being hurt through lateral entry in govt jobs, which have no provision of reservation, while farmers' demand for support price is rejected. He demanded caste census and removal of 50% cap on reservation "to show the country whose thumb you have cut".
Having just met the family of deceased girl victim of the macabre Hathras gangrape that took place four years ago, Rahul said the family is confined to their house while the accused are roaming freely and threatening the girl's kin. "Where in the Constitution is it written that rapists can roam freely while the victim would be shut in their house? It may be in Manusmriti, but not in the Constitution," he said.
Importantly, Rahul said the Hathras family has not been relocated as was promised four years ago, and announced that INDIA bloc would relocate them if the state did not. "I want to tell every poor that the Constitution protects you, but BJP assaults the Constitution every moment of the day," he remarked.
Taking up Sambhal police firing on Muslims, Rahul asked where was it written in the Constitution that innocents could be shot dead. "Wherever you go, you pit one religion against the other. You spread hatred. Where is it written in the Constitution that it can be done?" he added.
Rahul said Ambedkar's three concepts of political, social and economic equality do not exist now, and institutions have been captured by the ruling party.