‘Samvidhan Bachao Samavesh’

Congress will not let the BJP trample upon the Constitution

Bhubaneswar: Congress President Shri Mallikarjun Kharge and the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Shri Rahul Gandhi lashed out at the Bharatiya Janata Party for its consistent and continuous attempts to destroy the Constitution. “Odisha government, just like Prime Minister Modi, is being run by Adani”, remarked Shri Gandhi. They asserted that come what may, the Congress will not let the BJP trample upon the Constitution.

Congress President slams BJP in Bhubaneswar Public Rally

Addressing a huge public rally ‘Samvidhan Bachao Samavesh’ at Baramunda Ground, in Bhubaneswar on July 11, 2025, Congress President Shri Mallikarjun Kharge said that the BJP is running an autocratic government under Narendra Modi. They have no respect for the Constitution or the rule of law. Their ultimate aim is to rewrite the Constitution to suit their ideology—removing words like ‘socialism’ and ‘secularism.

He also raised concerns over alleged electoral manipulations in various states. He described the Maharashtra government as a “stolen mandate,” claiming it was formed through undemocratic means. “In Bihar too, they are plotting something similar. Out of 7 crore voters, they reportedly plan to delete the names of 2 crore people,” he alleged. Congress President Shri Mallikarjun Kharge warned against the Modi-led BJP government’s agenda to destroy the Constitution and replace it with ‘Manusmriti’. He pointed out, in the last General Elections, their sole agenda was to change the Constitution after getting 400 plus seats. But the people of the country did not give them that chance, he noted. Congress President Shri Mallikarjun Kharge said that if the Constitution is changed, there will be no universal franchise and no reservations. He warned the Dalit and the Adivasi communities in particular that the BJP will bring in ‘Manusmriti’ and will not let them go to the temples. He cited the recent example of two Dalits being made to eat grass and drink water from a drain after their heads were tonsured and they were made to crawl on their knees for two kilometers.

He challenged the BJP and the RSS to name a single contribution they had made in India’s freedom struggle or in safeguarding the nation’s freedom, unity and integrity — on par with the sacrifice of life by Mahatma Gandhi, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. He said, Rahul Gandhi was also following in their footsteps by uniting the country against the BJP’s divisive policy of polarizing people in the name of religion.

He also took a swipe at the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, calling it a “scam in disguise.” Kharge alleged that the scheme has become a conduit for transferring public money from poor farmers into the coffers of private insurance companies.

Odisha government. This is not a government of the people. It’s a government for 5-6 billionaires: Shri Rahul Gandhi

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and Congress leader Shri Rahul Gandhi accused the BJP of making attempts to “hijack upcoming elections in Bihar, as it did in Maharashtra.” Addressing the Party’s ‘Samvidhan Bachao Samavesh’ here in Bhubaneswar, he said that the INDIA bloc parties have decided to prevent the BJP from ‘hijacking’ the Bihar assembly polls. “Like Maharashtra, attempts are being made to hijack the elections in Bihar. The BJP is attacking our Constitution across the country,” Shri Rahul Gandhi alleged. Speaking at the huge rally, Leader of Opposition Shri Rahul Gandhi said that the BJP government in Odisha had a single point agenda to snatch away the wealth of the people of the state and handover it to a select few billionaires.

Leader of Opposition Shri Rahul Gandhi criticized that the BJP government went to the extent of stopping the Lord Jagannath Rath Yatra to wait for the Adani family. He reiterated his charge that the BJP was continuously attacking the Constitution. He pointed out how the BJP was now trying to replicate the Maharashtra model, where it stole the election, in Bihar also. He said, while in Maharashtra the BJP added one crore new voters, in Bihar it was trying to disenfranchise two crore voters. But, he asserted, the Congress will not let that happen.

Shri Rahul Gandhi expressed disappointment at the functioning of the Election Commission of India, saying it was not doing its own job, but working as an organ of the BJP. He pointed out, neither the ECI was providing the Party with the electoral rolls used during Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in Maharashtra nor the video footage of the voting.

On BJP government’s working in Odisha, Leader of Opposition Shri Rahul Gandhi said, its entire focus was to help a few billionaire friends of the Prime Minister and handover them the wealth of the state like the water, the land and the forests (jal, jungle aur zameen). He assured that the Congress Party will restore the land rights to the Adivasis which were being snatched away by the BJP government.

From this single incident, one can know everything about the Odisha government. This is not a government of the people. It’s a government for 5-6 billionaires like Adani. They are looting your land, forests, and future. The BJP government in Odisha, he alleged, is working overtime to steal from the poor and help big companies.

“It is doing the same thing that BJD was doing earlier. On one side, there are poor people including dalits, adivasis, backward classes, farmers and labourers, and on the other, there are five to six big companies and the BJP government,” he said asserting that only the Congress workers in alliance with the people of Odisha can win this fight and ensure justice and equality.

He asked what had the BJP government done for the youth, for the Dalits, for the Adivasis and the poor from the general category. He said, even the big industries, which are handed over huge land parcels belonging to people of Odisha, do not generate enough jobs to accommodate the unemployed youth of the state.

On atrocities being committed on women, he added that 15 rapes were reported every day in the state. Besides, he also raised concerns about rising crimes against women, claiming 40,000 are missing in Odisha and the government did not have any clue. He also called for a caste census to ensure representation for marginalized communities. He promised to return land to tribals and pledged Congress would protect the Constitution and the oppressed.

Reaffirming his Party’s commitment to caste census, he said, the Congress government in Telangana had set up a model for the entire country to follow. Those present included Congress General Secretary (Organization) Shri KC Venugopal, AICC Odisha In-charge Shri Ajay Kumar Lallu, Odisha PCC President Shri Bhakta Charan Das, Shri Rama Chandra Kadam and other senior leaders from the state.