New Delhi: Addressing the AICC Annual Legal Conclave, organised under the overarching theme ‘Constitutional Challenges-Perspectives & Pathways’ by the AICC’s Law, Human Rights and RTI Department, at the Vigyan Bhawan on August 2, 2025, Congress President Shri Mallikarjun Kharge and the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Shri Rahul Gandhi cited several instances of how the ruling establishment in the country has undermined the Constitutional institutions. Congress leadership also congratulated the legal fraternity of the country for defending and protecting the Constitution. Besides, they said, the Congress Party owes a lot to the legal fraternity, as most of its stalwarts were legal professionals.

The BJP-RSS, which never fought for freedom or upheld equality, now uses its power to dismantle the very framework it long opposed: Smt. Sonia Gandhi

In a special message, Smt. Sonia Gandhi, CPP Chairperson, which was read out by former Union Minister Shri Salman Khurshid, said, “The Constitution of India is more than a legal charter. It is the moral foundation of our democracy, built on Justice, Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity. It was shaped through the sacrifices and vision of the Indian National Congress. Even before Independence, the Congress Party imagined a Constitution by Indians, for Indians – from the Nehru Report 1928 to the demand for a Constituent Assembly in 1934. Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru laid the groundwork, and Dr B R Ambedkar, as Chairman of the Drafting Committee, gave form to these ideals. He warned that without social and economic justice, political democracy would be just a top dressing.”

CPP Chairperson Smt. Sonia Gandhi said, “India yearns for the inclusive, just and democratic nation envisaged by our freedom fighters and Constitution makers. That is what the Congress Party stands and fights for. We will oppose every attempt to undermine the Constitution, in Parliament, in courts, and on the streets. This is not just political, it is our ideological commitment to defend every Indian’s dignity.”

She said that the Congress recognized this and acted on it, expanding rights, strengthening institutions, and upholding dignity and inclusion. Today, the Constitution is under siege. She said that the BJP-RSS, which never fought for freedom or upheld equality, now uses its power to dismantle the very framework it long opposed. “Their ideological forebears glorified Manusmriti, rejected the tricolour, and envisioned a Hindu Rashtra, where democracy is hollow and discrimination is the law”, she noted, adding, “in power, they’ve eroded institutions, criminalized dissent, targeted minorities and betrayed Dalits, Adivasis, OBCs and the working poor.” Now they seek to erase socialism and secularism, pillars of Ambedkar’s vision of equal citizenship, she said and warned, this is not reform, but an ideological coup replacing our democratic republic with a theocratic corporate state serving the powerful few.

What we see today is dictatorship, not democracy: Congress President Shri Mallikarjun Kharge

Speaking on the occasion, Congress President Shri Mallikarjun Kharge said that the Constitution is the soul of Indian democracy that guarantees justice, liberty, equality and fraternity in the country. He said that the same Constitution is in danger today as the ruling establishment appears desperate to change it. The Congress President noted that had the BJP got 400 seats in the last Lok Sabha elections, it might have changed the Constitution. He underlined that it was due to the efforts of Shri Rahul Gandhi who made ‘Saving the Constitution’ the central issue of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, and the Congress Party’s campaign, that the BJP did not get even a simple majority. He pointed out how some senior BJP and the RSS leaders were repeatedly saying that the words ‘Secular’ and ‘Socialist’ should be removed from the Preamble of the Constitution. However, he reminded them that their power is limited whereas the power of people to protect the Constitution is unlimited. He said that the same people slapped them on their face by not only denying them 400 seats, but also refusing them even a simple majority.

He also referred to a High Court judge’s derogatory remarks against a particular community, saying no action was taken against him. He also referred to the Special Intensive Revision of the Electoral Rolls in Bihar. He said it was being done with a clear intent to disenfranchise the Dalits, Adivasis, the poor and the minority voters. He stated that 65 lakh voters will be left out.

BJP won 70-100 seats through rigging in LS elections, …If 15 seats hadn’t been rigged, Modi wouldn’t be the PM: Shri Rahul Gandhi

Addressing the Annual Legal Conclave, Shri Rahul Gandhi said that a carefully and meticulously developed constitutional architecture was under constant attack. “That architecture is being destroyed and systematically unraveled on every front-some visible and others hidden”.

Reiterating his charge about the electoral manipulation, Shri Rahul Gandhi said that Narendra Modi would not have been the Prime Minister of the country today if elections in 15 parliamentary constituencies were not rigged. He pointed out, Modi is the Prime Minister with a slim majority and the Party suspects that elections in somewhere 70 to 100 seats were rigged. The senior Congress leader asserted that he has clear proof which will be revealed in a few days as how the elections were manipulated. He said, while he had the suspicion for a long time, but he did not have the proof, which he has got now.

He said that between the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections in Maharashtra, a period of 4 months only, one crore new voters were added in the state and bulk of it went to the BJP. “We have such proof that we will show it to the whole country that the institution of the Election Commission does not exist. It has disappeared”, he revealed, while giving details how the Congress Party worked hard for six months to find evidence and proof of how the elections were manipulated. Citing an example, he said, in one case, out of the 6.5 lakhs voters, 1.5 lakhs were fake. “You will see the shockwave that will go through the electoral system when we release this data. Truth is that the election system in India is already dead”, he remarked. Leader of Opposition Shri Rahul Gandhi also quoted a document, which had clearly mentioned that the Prime Minister’s Office and the National Security Adviser had interfered in the Rafael Deal. This document, he said, would have brought down any government of any country anywhere in the world, but nothing happened in India. “You know where that document went and where that document died”, he said.

The Leader of Opposition said that anyone who fights this government was being targeted, citing his own example of fighting about 30 legal cases. He also revealed how a senior BJP leader, not alive now, had approached him to threaten him not to support the farmers’ cause against the central law. “But I told him that he had approached a wrong person and that the Congressmen cannot be threatened or intimidated”, he said, while pointing out, “we were not scared of the British Empire, would we be scared of the BJP!”

Referring to the Constitution, while holding a copy in his hand, he said, it is the manifestation of India’s history and culture of over 5000 years. “By defending the Constitution, we are defending our way of life”, he remarked.

He also rapped those who were assaulting others in the name of religion. “Tell me, which Hindu tradition tells us to beat up a Muslim boy or to lynch people”, he asked, while asserting, “our tradition says, everybody is equal.”

Constitution of India is not just a legal contract between citizens; it is a living-beating heart of our Democracy: Dr. Abhishek Manu Singhvi

Addressing the National Conclave, Dr. Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Chairman, AICC Law, RTI and Human Rights, strongly underlined that the - “Constitution of India is not just a legal contract between citizens; it is a living-beating heart of our Democracy. It was the Indian National Congress that envisioned it. It is the Congress Party that is the conscience keeper of the Constitution”, he said. Dr. Singhvi said, “I stand before you as a deeply concerned citizen of the Republic of India. A Republic whose Constitutional soul today stands tested, tarnished and threatened. We are living through a moment in which the Constitution is not merely ignored, it is being twisted. Constitutional values – JUSTICE, LIBERTY, EQUALITY and FRATERNITY are gasping for air.” Dr. Singhvi went on to state that the present challenge faced by the Constitution is part of a deeper and insidious campaign. He accentuated, “The Constitution of India has CHECKS and BALANCES. They are being replaced by CHEQUES and BULLDOZERS. This is not governance, it is the gas lighting of a Republic.” Urging lawyers present in the National Conclave to act, he stressed, that “We must stop pretending that this is business as usual. This is not a temporary deviation. It is an ideological design.” Making a strong case for the Constitution, Dr Singhvi said, “Constitution is not meant to be reduced to a mere government book (document).”

About the Conclave

The AICC Department of Law, Human Rights and RTI, organised a National Legal Conclave on August 2, 2025, at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. The full day Conclave was organised under the overarching theme: “Constitutional Challenges: Perspectives and Pathways.” This event took place at a pivotal moment in our Republic’s journey — a time that calls for renewed commitment to the foundational values of our democracy. The Conclave comprised five curated sessions, each of which addressed a critical facet of our constitutional structure. These included discussions on federalism, social justice, religion and the Constitution, judicial independence, and the erosion of institutional accountability. These sessions were not abstract exercises, but deeply relevant to the legal and political crises facing the Republic today.

After the Inaugural, the first session was on the theme, ‘Social Justice and the Constitution: Ideas of Equality and Fraternity’. The second session had the topic, ‘Religion & the Constitution: Guardrails and Guidelines’. The third session was titled, ‘Separation of Powers and Democratic Accountability: Whither Federalism’. Finally, the valedictory session was on the overall theme of ‘The Constitutional Compass: INC’s Enduring Commitment to Democratic India.’

41distinguished speakers from across the Congress family— including the Hon’ble Congress President, Shri Kharge; Former Congress President, Shri Rahul Gandhi; Senior Leaders of the Congress Party, Sitting Chief Ministers, Members of Parliament, General Secretaries of the Congress, PCC Presidents, Former Ministers, Spokespersons, Legal Academics, Former Judges, Human Rights organizations, and – all of whom brought rich experience and deep commitment to the constitutional ethos – were present. The Legal Department of the Indian National Congress remains steadfast in its commitment to upholding and defending the values enshrined in our Constitution.