BJP will 'throw away' Constitution if it returns to power, claims Rahul

Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday claimed that if the BJP returns to power at the Centre, it will "tear apart" and "throw away" the Constitution which granted rights to the poor, Dalits, STs and the OBCs.

Addressing a rally in Madhya Pradesh's Bhind district, Gandhi, while holding a copy of the Constitution (book), said the ongoing Lok Sabha poll is not a normal election, but a fight between two ideologies.

"The poor, STs, OBCs got several rights because of the Constitution which also gave the people MGNREGA, land rights, reservation, and other things. If the BJP comes to power, it will throw away and tear apart this Constitution," he claimed.

"The prime minister, Amit Shah (Union Home Minister) and their MPs have made up their mind that if they get elected, they will tear apart and throw this (Constitution) book. The BJP wants this book to be thrown away and 20-25 billionaires should run the country," the Wayanad MP further claimed.

He also targeted the BJP government over the issue of reservation.

If the ruling dispensation is not against reservation, then why it is privatising PSUs, the Railways and other sectors, he asked.

Gandhi also said that if the Congress comes to power, it will make crores of women "lakhpati" through its Mahalaksmi Yojana.

Under the scheme, the government will transfer Rs 1 lakh (Rs 8,500 per month) into the accounts of the women to make them "lakhpati", he said.

"If Prime Minister Narendra Modi can turn 22-25 industrialists into billionaires, then the Congress will turn crores of women into lakhpatis," Gandhi said.

The Congress has fielded MLA Phool Singh Baraiya from the Bhind Lok Sabha (SC-reserved) seat against BJP's sitting MP Sandhya Rai.