The Congress on Constitution Day on Tuesday said it resolved to save the soul of the Constitution by not allowing it to be mortgaged to an 'autocratic government blinded by the insatiable lust for power'.

Upset over political developments in Maharashtra, the Congress and other Opposition parties boycotted the Constitution Day celebrations in the central hall of Parliament and held a joint protest in front of Ambedkar's statue inside the complex.

Congress, DMK, SP, NCP, RJD, CPI, CPM, TMC, IUML, and Shiv Sena leaders skipped the joint sitting of both the Houses in Parliament as a mark of protest against the BJP's alleged high-handedness in Maharashtra.

In a first, the Congress was supported by the Shiv Sena in the protest.

The protest was led by Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and party leader Rahul Gandhi.

The Congress and Opposition leaders met at Parliament House this morning to finalise the protest.

Sonia Gandhi led the protesters in taking a pledge to uphold the Constitution. She read out the Preamble to the Constitution and resolved to stand by the fundamental values of the Constitution.

Among leaders who protested outside were DMK's T. R. Baalu, Shiv Sena's Arvind Sawant, TMC's Saugata Roy and NCP's Majeed Memon.

Senior BJP leader and Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad criticised the Congress on Tuesday for the boycott and said it was an 'insult' to Bhim Rao Ambedkar.

'November 26 is Constitution Day and this day is above political differences. Congress' absence from central hall is an insult to Dr Ambedkar, the father of the Constitution, and this is nothing new. Earlier also the party did the same thing by not giving him Bharat Ratna,' Prasad said.