Rahul Gandhi on Sunday took up the cudgels for minorities, particularly Muslims, after a migrant worker was lynched in election-bound Haryana and an elderly man was assaulted in a train in Maharashtra on the suspicion of carrying beef.

The leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha billed such targeting of minorities as yet another attack on the Constitution in an apparent bid to hurt the BJP at its most vulnerable spot.

The Opposition campaign that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would change the Constitution if voted in for a third time had hurt the BJP electorally and the NDA government has been rolling back decisions or going slow on policies that are perceived to be feeding this narrative.

In a detailed post in Hindi on X, Rahul said: “Those who have climbed the ladder of power by using hatred as a political weapon are continuously establishing the reign of fear across the country. Hateful elements hidden in the form of mobs are openly spreading violence, challenging the rule of law.”

Holding the BJP responsible for such violence, he said “these miscreants have got a free hand from the BJP government, that is why they have got the courage to do this”. He included in his post a screenshot each of the two attacks.

“Attacks on minorities, especially Muslims, are continuing and the government machinery is watching as a mute spectator,” Rahul said, appearing to be responding to criticism from the secular/liberal sections that the Congress is not taking a position on attacks that specifically target the
community.

Last week, when the Congress took a position against bulldozer justice, it had dealt with it as a minority issue without naming Muslims, drawing the ire of the secular sections of society.

Rahul said on Sunday: “The authority of law must be established by taking the strictest action against such anarchic elements. Any attack on the communal unity of India and the rights of Indians is an attack on the Constitution, which we will not tolerate at all. No matter how much effort BJP makes, we will win this historic battle to unite India against hatred.’’

In Haryana, Sabir Malik, a migrant worker from Bengal, was beaten to death in Charkhi Dadri district on August 27 by alleged cow vigilantes on suspicion of consuming beef. Haryana chief minister Nayab Singh Saini contested the use of the word “mob lynching”, averring that there are strict laws for cow protection in the state.

In Maharashtra, where Assembly elections are scheduled this year, a 72-year-old man was abused, beaten and kicked on August 28 by youngsters travelling for a police recruitment exam on the Dhule-CSMT Express for carrying beef.

Preliminary investigations have shown that the victim was carrying buffalo meat, which is not banned in Maharashtra.