‘Samvidhan Bachao’ rally at Ramleela Maidan

New Delhi: Launching a scathing attack on the BJP-led Modi government, Congress President Shri Mallikarjun Kharge on December 1, 2024, said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is “leaving no stone unturned to break our unity.” Addressing the ‘Samvidhan Bachao’ maharally organised by Scheduled Castes (SC), Other Backward Classes (OBC), Minorities and Adivasi Parisanghat a rally in New Delhi at Ramlila Maidan, Congress President Shri Mallikarjun Kharge said, “Modi ji leaving no stone unturned to break our unity... They leave behind the common man because they hate them. Our fight is against this hatred. For that, political power is essential...”

Further slamming the ruling party, he said - The BJP only talks about morality but “repeatedly engages in unethical behaviour.”What does BJP do?

BJP steals your votes. How does it steal? It steals because of EVMs. It steals votes and even steals MLAs and takes them away. Like the government that has come to power in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Uttarakhand, Manipur has come to power by stealing everything, by stealing MLAs. BJP also steals the elected government and also steals your pension. Conduct unfair elections. I’ve received complaints from many places, where people claim that 1,000 votes were cast within an hour. Battery (EVM) runs out, later it shows 60-70%battery life,” he alleged.

Leave aside the MSP of farmers. People were sitting on the border for the MSP price. They were beaten and chased away. They were crushed to death. Such is BJP and its leaders are also like that and they steal your rights. The soul of democracy resides in fair elections.

Hitting out at attempts to conduct “surveys” in mosques and dargahs, Shri Kharge said Mr. Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah did not even listen to Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Chief Mohan Bhagwat. “Tomorrow, they will demand that Red Fort, Taj Mahal and Charminar should be demolished and will look for something underneath them,” Kharge Ji said, adding that the surveyors were searching for temples under mosques.

“But in 2023, RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat had said — ‘Our aim was to build Ram temple; it is wrong to find a Shivalaya under every mosque’,” Shri Kharge said.

He further said - Mr. Modi was trying to divide people on the one hand, and on the other hand, asked them to unify. “The BJP is trying to divide the people and our attempt is to unite the country by demanding a socio-economic census of people of all castes and religions,” Shri Kharge said.

He accused the BJP of attempting to undermine the country’s unity.”We cannot achieve anything unless we are united. As long as we remain divided—from Kanyakumari to Kashmir and Bengal to Gujarat—we cannot achieve our goals. Every organization in the country wants to protect the Constitution, which is the foundation of our nation. If we protect the Constitution, we will be able to protect ourselves.”

He underscored that the Constitution does not belong to any single individual but to everyone, calling for a nationwide movement to safeguard it.

“After independence, women can now become the Prime Minister, the President, MPs, MLAs, Zilla Panchayat Chairpersons, and Mayors. All of this is possible because of the Constitution. That’s why the movement to protect the Constitution should be universal—it is not just yours or mine; it belongs to everyone,” he added. Congress President Shri Mallikarjun Kharge criticized the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), remarking, “They say, ‘Ek raho, safe raho,’ but they do not let anyone stay safe. ‘Batenge toh katenge’—the ones who divide and the ones who harm are the same people.”

The Congress President said that the BJP would try to promote caste leaders but would neglect the common people. “The BJP hates common people. Our fight is against this hatred,” he said.

“Shri Modi takes all efforts to break the unity of the people. He will promote one caste among the Scheduled Castes and demote another caste,” Shri Kharge said.

He said that in the past 11 years, the BJP had continuously tried to weaken the Constitution, constitutional institutions, and democracy. “Attempts were made to suppress the voice of the Opposition; restrictions were imposed on the media; journalists were put in jail. BJP leaders openly started demanding 400 seats to change the Constitution,” Congress President said.

He said that the yatras conducted by Congress leader Shri Rahul Gandhi had brought the issues of the people to the forefront, and made them the issues of the Congress Party. He said that the real fight was against the problems of the youth, labourers, weaker sections, minorities, and farmers of the country.

“We will conduct a caste census, remove the 50% limit on reservations, and extend it further. Only then people will get justice,” he added.

On the repeated adjournments in Parliament, Congress President Shri Kharge said, “They (the government) allege that we do not allow the House to function. So many elected representatives are present and want to participate in discussions, but the House is adjourned before that, with the claim that we are creating disruptions. This is their responsibility, not ours.”

Both houses of Parliament held only brief sessions in the past week amid disruptions, as the Opposition parties demanded discussions on the issue and the violence in Manipur and Sambhal.