Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday dubbed the NDA government at the Centre "a crippled one" after the Opposition dealt a "fatal blow" to the BJP, which is now dependent on its allies.
On a thanksgiving trip to Wayanad, the seat he won along with Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh, Rahul told a public meeting in Edvanna in Malappuram, which is part of the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency, that the Indian people have sent a clear message to the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“I can tell you that the government that has been formed in Delhi is a crippled government. The Opposition has dealt a fatal blow to the BJP. And you will see that even Mr Narendra Modi’s attitude will have to change because the people of India have sent him a clear message,” Rahul said to thunderous applause from thousands who braved heavy rain to listen to him.
"From our perspective, our role of Opposition will continue. We proposed an alternative vision for the people of India, a pro-poor compassionate vision and we will fight for that vision. We are committed to making India a fairer society, a more productive society,” he said, adding that the election was about the Constitution.
He pointed out how Modi, "who wanted to rewrite the Constitution, was made to bow before it".
"After the election, you saw the Prime Minister doing this to the Constitution (touching the Constitution to his forehead),” Rahul said, enacting what Modi did in the Central Hall of the old Parliament building ahead of the NDA meeting.
"The fight in this election was about the Constitution. On one side, millions of Indian people say that we want our tradition, we believe in our language, we believe in our culture, we believe in our history and we will define our future. On the other side, the Prime Minister and Mr Amit Shah said 'no, if we want the people of Kerala to speak Hindi then the people of Kerala will speak Hindi. If we want the Tamil not to speak Tamil then the people of Tamil Nadu will not speak Tamil',” Rahul reminded his supporters.
“The people of India also told them (the BJP) that the Constitution is our voice, do not touch the Constitution,” Rahul said in the backdrop of a huge banner emblazoned "Guardian of Constitution".
Rahul recalled how he had reluctantly watched a Kathakali performance with his grandmother Indira Gandhi as a child but enjoyed a similar performance more recently when an expert provided a description.
“The first time was just a dance. The second time it was the voice of millions of people, it was the history of millions of people. It was the expression of millions of people. And each state of our country has these traditions, has its own language, has its own history, has its own expression,” he said, dwelling on the linguistic, religious, cultural and ethnic diversity of the country.
“There is Malayalam, Tamil, Bengali, Gujarati. There are many different languages, dances and many different histories in this country. And every single tradition and history is protected by the Constitution of India,” he said, holding a copy aloft to loud cheers from the audience.
“The fact that the people of Kerala and the people of India can enjoy Kathakali, can listen to Malayalam, can eat Kerala food is all protected by this (the Constitution). And if this was gone then somebody could come to Kerala and say we do not want you to speak Malayalam, we do not want you to have dosa for breakfast, or we don’t like this particular tradition of yours,” Rahul said, reminding how vital the election was to protect the Constitution and the rights it provided to the people.
