Congress MP and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi attacked the BJP-led government on Saturday (December 14) during a Lok Sabha debate marking 75 years since the adoption of the Constitution.
Gandhi invoked Hindutva ideologue Vinayak Damodar Savarkar to question the BJP’s commitment to the Constitution. Referring to Savarkar’s alleged remark that there is “nothing Indian about our Constitution” and his preference for the Manusmriti, Gandhi said:
“VD Savarkar clearly stated in his writings that the Constitution should be replaced by the Manusmriti. When you (BJP) talk about protecting the Constitution, you are ridiculing and defaming Savarkar.”
His comments sparked protests from the treasury benches.
Gandhi also raised the Gautam Adani issue, accusing the government of favouring the industrialists at the expense of small businesses and farmers.
He said: “When you give Dharavi to Adani ji, then you are cutting the thumbs of small businesses of Dharavi. You are doing the same by giving ports, airports to him. You are cutting the thumb of honest businesses.”
Reiterating his commitment to a caste census, Gandhi promised “a new kind of development” through its implementation and pledged to remove the 50 per cent cap on reservations.
Gandhi made a statement that left people stunned. Redefining the meaning of “tapasya” in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi said, “Tapasya means generating heat in the body.”
Referring to the Mahabharata’s Eklavya, Rahul Gandhi spoke about a child in the forest thousands of years ago who would wake up every morning and engage in “tapasya.” He explained that the child performed this penance for hours every day over several years.
A video of Rahul Gandhi’s statement has been shared on social media, where users are mocking him for his interpretation of the word.
He made another blunder as he narrated the story of Eklavya and alleged that by bringing in lateral entry into government jobs they are chopping off the thumb of youth, backward class people.
“Dronacharya and Pandavas went close and saw that the dog was stuck in a trap of all three. One arrow was in his mouth, but he wasn’t hurt. Eklavya had done it. Dronacharya asked Eklvya who taught him this. He said he practised for hours and did tapasya. You refused to be my Guru, but I took a clay statue and I practised. Dronacharya wasn’t happy and said that you have to give gurudakshina. Dronacharya told him for gurudakshina you have to give your skills, your future and your thumb. He gave it to him. This is Abhay mudra. It has confidence and strength. Where does it come from? From the thumb. These people are against this, and you are trying to chop off the thumb of the country. You are cutting the thumb of the youth of this country,” Rahul Gandhi said.
“The truth is you want India to be run the way it used to be earlier. When I was young, all around Delhi, there used to be forests. Right next to AIIMS, there was a jungle. In a similar jungle, thousands of years ago, a child — six to seven years old — used to wake up and practise. He would pick up the Dhanush and use the bow and arrow. He practised it for years. People got to know, and he went to his Guru. The child’s name was Eklavya, who went to Guru Dronacharya, and said that he had been trying to learn for years and had given all his powers to it. Dronacharya told Eklavya that you do not belong to the upper caste and I won’t become your Guru and Eklavya left. He again started his tapasya. A few years later, Dronacharya and Kauravas and Pandavas crossed through the jungle and a dog was barking and suddenly, he went quiet,” Gandhi said.
“This is Abhayamudra. Confidence, strength and fearlessness come through skill, through thumb. These people are against this. How Dronacharya cut off the thumb of Eklavya, you are busy cutting off the thumb of the entire nation… When you hand over Dharavi to Adani, you cut off the thumbs of entrepreneurs and small and medium businesses. When you hand over India’s ports, airports and defence industry to Adani, you cut off the thumbs of all fair play businesses of India who work honestly,” the LoP said.
Referring to the Congress’s promise for a caste census, Gandhi said: “The ideology of the INDIA bloc is that we brought the Constitution and we will protect it. (Dr B R) Ambedkar ji said that if there is political equality but no social equality, then political equality will be destroyed. Political and social equality are over. Financial and economic equality is also over. Hence, our next step will be a caste census. We want to show the people whose thumbs have been chopped.”
Earlier in the day, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju countered the Congress, accusing it of selectively upholding constitutional values while sidelining the contributions of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, the architect of the Constitution. Rijiju alleged that Congress had historically marginalised Ambedkar and delayed acknowledging his role.
Rijiju also referenced Ambedkar’s criticism of former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, accusing Nehru of prioritising appeasement politics over addressing the concerns of Scheduled Castes.
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