'Using Every Trick To Crush, Curtail All Freedoms': Kharge Attacks BJP On Constitution Day

On Constitution Day of India, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge accused BJP of curbing freedoms under the Constitution and said It was time to stand up against this "politics of division and hate".

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, on Sunday, accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of employing every trick to curtail freedoms enshrined in the Constitution and stated that every citizen should question the attack on the Constitution. Kharge made these remarks on Constitution Day, commemorating the day when India adopted the Constitution in 1949. In a long post on X, formerly Twitter, Kharge said, "The Constitution of India is the lifeline of our Democracy". He said that on the 74th Constitution Day, “We bow in utmost reverence to its makers”.

“The present regime is using every trick in its textbook to crush and curtail all freedoms enshrined in the Constitution.” The "systematic and strident attack" on the Constitution by the BJP-RSS is visible in the "rampant misuse" of every nut and bolt of the government machinery, he alleged.

"Every citizen should question the attack on our Constitution, its ethos and its values," he also said.

Kharge added that the country may soon reach a point where social justice and harmony become “a casualty” and the rights of the weaker sections would be stripped away. “It is time to stand up against this politics of division and hate. The Indian National Congress is fighting this battle from the front," Kharge said.

Kharge alleged that dissent is being crushed and criminalised, institutions are being pushed to the point of becoming pawns “in the grand game of imposing an authoritarian system, hate is being served under the garb of social changes.”

He said the Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra spread the message of peace, unity in diversity, goodwill, and compassion. He said that ‘Yatra’ continues and Gandhi is reaching out to more people, more states and more sections of the society.

Meanwhile, Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh said that 74 years ago, the Constitution of India that is Bharat, was formally adopted by the Constituent Assembly.

"The PM and his drumbeaters will of course proclaim their allegiance to it. This is sheer hypocrisy on three counts," he alleged in his X post. He claimed that the RSS had nothing to do with the making of the Constitution and had actually opposed it. He added that PM Modi got some of his “cheerleaders” to advocate “a total rewrite of the Constitution”.

Ramesh also said that the PM has eroded the independence and professional autonomy of all Constitutional bodies and has encouraged Constitutional authorities to become “blatantly partisan," he alleged.

In a post on X, the Congress said, "Let us all pledge to imbibe its values and defend it against the continuous assault under the present regime".

At the same time, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut, said "The nation got the Constitution because of the efforts of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar... Our democracy and freedom were strong because of the Constitution. But for the past ten years, efforts have been going on to weaken the Constitution. It is the responsibility of every citizen of the country to save this Constitution. The political fight of 2024 will be fought to save the Constitution."