BJP president JP Nadda on Friday said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi does not understand the "ABC of the Constitution" and flaunts a copy of it at political gatherings while not knowing that Dr B R Ambedkar did not subscribe to job reservations on religious lines.

The Union minister said the Congress wants to give quotas meant for SCs, STs and OBCs to minorities in Karnataka and Telangana, where the party is in power.

"Gandhi does not know that the Constitution does not allow reservations on religious lines. He does not understand the ABC of the Constitution. He sells materials of hatred in his 'mohabbat ki dukan' (shop of love)'," Nadda remarked, hitting out at the Raebareli Lok Sabha MP.

Gandhi campaigned in the Lok Sabha polls as well as assembly elections underway in Maharashtra and Jharkhand by showing a copy of the Constitution to tell voters that the BJP wanted to change the apex document and do away with reservations in jobs and education.

"We have to prevent appeasement and vote bank politics. The Congress wants to give reservations to minorities after taking away quota meant for SCs, STs and OBcs in Telangana and Karnataka. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has never discriminated against anyone," Nadda asserted.

Addressing a meeting of intellectuals in Thane ahead of the November 20 Maharashtra assembly polls, Nadda hailed PM Modi for providing trust and leadership to the nation as well as ensuring that the speed and scale of development work was the strongest in the last decade.

"The Modi government has pro-incumbency, is pro-poor, pro-farmer, pro-youth, pro-Dalit, pro-women. It is responsible and accountable. Modi has made it a habit of presenting his report card," Nadda emphasised.

On the other hand, the Congress never gave importance to manifestos and sometimes presents the same set of promises multiple times, the BJP president added.

Before 2014, under the Congress-led UPA, the world equated India and Pakistan and a visit to the country was followed by halts at Lahore or Rawalpindi in the neighbouring country, Nadda pointed out.

"Now they don't do that. The diplomatic terminology has changed," he said.

The government has spent Rs 12 lakh crore on infrastructure in the state, which has resulted in several elevated roads, underpasses, metro rail lines etc, and even the banking system is in profit, Nadda said.

"The toy and automobile markets have got a boost. India is the world's pharmacy giving affordable medicines to countries. During the COVID lockdown, 30 crore free vaccine doses were given to 48 countries. While earlier we took years to make vaccines, Modi government did it in the fastest time during the pandemic," the health minister said.

In Maharashtra, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), when in power between November 2019 and June 2022, stalled key projects like Dharavi redevelopment, coastal road, metro rail lines, he said.

Nadda called on the voters of Maharashtra to reject the opposition alliance and ensure they are "made to sit at home forever" after the elections as he accused them of working against pro-people schemes such as the "Ladli Behna Yojana." He emphasized the transformative development under the "double-engine" (BJP and its allies in power at Centre and in a state) government led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, while accusing the opposition of hindering progress.

"The opposition alliance only brings backwardness and division. Their politics is based on appeasement and nepotism, which Prime Minister Modi has replaced it with development-driven governance," Nadda said.

Nadda underscored efforts to empower every section of society, ensuring food security, infrastructural expansion, and economic growth.

"The double-engine government has ensured that development reaches every corner of Maharashtra. We are committed to inclusive growth and empowering even the most marginalized," the BJP president maintained.

Nadda accused the MVA of prioritizing personal interests over the state's development and resorting to legal challenges to stall initiatives of the ruling Mahayuti.

"The MVA's politics is about stopping progress, not enabling it. They stalled projects, went to court against welfare schemes, and now, they are trying to mislead people again. The time has come to end their regressive politics," he noted.

Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Telegraph Online staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.