In a heated debate on the Constitution in the Lok Sabha, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi referenced Hindutva ideologue Vinayak Damodar Savarkar’s alleged remark that there is "nothing Indian about our Constitution" to target the BJP. Rahul accused the ruling party of undermining constitutional principles and pushing an agenda rooted in the Manusmriti, a Sanskrit text often criticized for its caste bias.

“VD Savarkar clearly stated in his writings that there is nothing Indian about our Constitution. When the BJP claims to protect the Constitution, they are actually ridiculing and defaming Savarkar,” Rahul Gandhi said amidst protests from BJP MPs. He further alleged that Savarkar had compromised with the British, contrasting him with leaders like Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, who endured imprisonment during the freedom struggle.

Rahul also invoked his grandmother and former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, claiming she had told him that Savarkar had written apologies to the British.

The BJP quickly hit back, sharing a letter from Indira Gandhi written in 1980 in which she had referred to Savarkar as “a remarkable son of India.” Union Minister Kiren Rijiju posted the letter online, accusing Rahul Gandhi of making inaccurate statements about Savarkar.

Gandhi Accuses BJP of Failing Youth, Farmers

Rahul Gandhi also criticized the BJP over its governance practices, comparing the party to Dronacharya from the Mahabharata, who cut off Eklavya’s thumb to limit his potential. Rahul alleged that the BJP was stifling opportunities for the youth and marginalized communities through policies like lateral entry into government jobs and rampant exam paper leaks.

“You are chopping off the thumb of today’s youth, backward class people, and the poor by limiting their opportunities,” Rahul said. He also accused the government of favoring businessmen like Gautam Adani and Mukesh Ambani, which he claimed was hurting small farmers and businesses.

“You unleash tear gas and lathis on farmers outside Delhi when they demand fair MSP. But you make policies that profit Adani and Ambani, effectively cutting off the thumb of our farmers,” he alleged.

Reiterating his demand for a caste census, Rahul promised a transformative shift in development if it were implemented, vowing to remove the 50% cap on reservations.

BJP Responds with Emergency Jibe

Responding to Rahul’s accusations, BJP MP Anurag Thakur brought up the Emergency period (1975-77), imposed by Indira Gandhi, during which civil liberties were curtailed. He argued that it was the power of the Constitution that eventually forced Indira Gandhi to lift the Emergency.

“Those who hold up the Constitution today don’t even know how many pages it has. It was the Constitution that ended the Emergency imposed by Indira Gandhi,” Thakur said in the Lok Sabha.

The debate highlighted sharp divisions between the Congress and BJP over constitutional values, governance policies, and India’s political history.