Rahul Gandhi accuses BJP of attacking Constitution by controlling agencies

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday claimed that the Constitution is "under attack" by the BJP as he accused the saffron party of controlling institutions such as the Election Commission, bureaucracy and central agencies.

He also said no force can stop the caste census and removal of the 50 per cent cap on the reservation.

"The Constitution is under constant attack from all sides, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, and it needs to be protected," Gandhi alleged while addressing 'Samvidhan Samman Sammelan' in Ranchi ahead of the Jharkhand Assembly polls.

In a no-hold-bar attack, he accused the BJP of "controlling the Election Commission, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Enforcement Directorate (ED), income tax department, bureaucracy and judiciary".

"The BJP also controls funds and institutions but we possess honesty. The Congress fought the Lok Sabha elections without money," he claimed.

Gandhi said the caste census is a "medium for getting social X-ray but PM Modi is opposed to this".

"However, no force can stop caste census, institutional survey and removal of 50 per cent cap on reservation despite no media, judiciary support," he said.

This was Gandhi's first visit to Jharkhand after the assembly poll schedule was announced.

The assembly polls will be held in two phases on November 13 and 20 and counting will take place on November 23.

Earlier in the day, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren said that the INDIA bloc will contest the upcoming assembly polls together and the Congress and the JMM will field candidates in 70 of 81 seats.

Seat-sharing talks are on with alliance partners - the RJD and the Left parties - for the remaining 11 seats, he added.