‘PM has not understood Bharat ka Samvidhan is not Sangh ka Vidhan’

New Delhi: It seems Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not understood that it is ‘Bharat ka Samvidhan’ not ‘Sangh ka Vidhan’, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said on Friday while launching a blistering attack against the BJP in her maiden speech in the Lok Sabha.

Had it not been for the Lok Sabha poll results, the ruling party would have started changing the Constitution, the newly elected Wayanad MP claimed during a debate on the Constitution in the Lok Sabha.

She described the Constitution as a ‘suraksha kavach’ (protective shield) of justice, unity and freedom of expression and one the the BJP-led government has made every effort to break in the past 10 years.

In her 32-minute speech in Hindi, Priyanka Gandhi was combative yet restrained, never raising her voice, as she raised the Opposition’s key planks. These included the BJP’s alleged attempts to change the Constitution, “growing monopoly” of the Adani Group, atrocities on women, incidents of violence in Sambhal and Manipur, and the demand for a nationwide caste census. The Congress leader even took on Union minister Rajnath Singh, saying those in the ruling party mostly talk about the past but should tell the country what they are doing now.

“What is your responsibility? Or does all the responsibility lie with Jawaharlal Nehru ji?” she asked in a swipe at the BJP over its repeated criticism of India’s first prime minister.

“Our Constitution laid the foundation of economic justice, distributing land to farmers, the poor and the needy.... Whose name is often used by them (BJP) to save themselves, he (Jawaharlal Nehru) created many PSUs and institutions such as HAL, BHEL, SAIL, GAIL, ONGC, NTPC, Railways, IIT, IIM,” she said.