Rahul has no idea how Rajiv, Indira and Nehru tampered with Constitution: Nadda

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has no knowledge of history and what efforts were made by his father, grandmother and great grandfather to tamper with the Constitution, Union Minister and BJP president JP Nadda said on Sunday.

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Speaking at the BJP's 'Samvidhan Gaurav Abhiyan', he said the Congress ruled the country for 65 years and its leaders tampered with the Constitution and tried to destroy its basic provisions.

He attacked Gandhi for using the term “Indian state” in a comment against the Narendra Modi government, the BJP and RSS.

“Today our Congress leader says “fighting against the Indian state”. He has no knowledge of history, nor does he have anything to do with it,” Nadda said, adding that Gandhi “just reads” speeches handed over to him without making an effort to understand the contents and context.

Gandhi had recently said “the BJP and RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) have captured every single institution in this country and we are now fighting the BJP, the RSS, and the Indian state itself”.

“As India gears up to celebrate its 76th Republic Day, we should remember who tampered with the Constitution, and tried to destroy its basic provisions, as well as who protected the Constitution, and who did the work of protecting and highlighting the ideas of Babasaheb Ambedkar,” Nadda said.

He said citizens must be conscious and wary of those hypocritical people who “keep roaming around with a copy of the Constitution without knowing or reading what is inside”.

Gandhi often holds up a copy of the Constitution at his poll rallies to attack the BJP.

“He does not know what his father (Rajiv Gandhi) great grandfather (Jawaharlal Nehru) and grandmother (Indira Gandhi) did. He should know these things,” Nadda said.

Alluding to Emergency (1975-77), Nadda said Indira Gandhi tampered with the Constitution and sent 1.35 lakh people to jail, in the process destroying many families.

Nadda said it was a matter of pride that most of those who were jailed during Emergency were "from our ideology".

He cited the 39th and 42nd Constitutional amendments (passed during Emergency to restrict judicial scope, and shifting of powers from states to Centre) that were enacted by the then Indira Gandhi government.

“Indira Gandhi wanted to mislead the country by raising tempting slogans. Therefore, she added the words secularism and socialism in the Constitution,” Nadda said.

How the Constitution works under “good people” can be seen in the way 'one nation, one tax' has been implemented, the way the nation is moving towards UCC, how OBC commission was granted constitutional status and the economically weaker section (EWS) was given 10 per cent reservation, Nadda pointed out.