logo
"Those Who Dance With Constitution Trampled It": PM's Law Jab At Congress

"Those Who Dance With Constitution Trampled It": PM's Law Jab At Congress

NDTV6 hours ago
New Delhi:
Targeting the Opposition and senior Congress leader, Rahul Gandhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today alleged that "those who dance with the Constitution on their heads" kept oppressive laws in place for decades before he started repealing them.
Addressing a government event to inaugurate two key infrastructure projects to declog Delhi roads, the Prime Minister referred to sanitation workers in the national capital. "Our safai karmacharis fulfill a major duty and we must thank them every morning. But previous governments treated them like slaves. I am telling you the truth of how those who dance with the Constitution on their heads trampled the Constitution and betrayed Babasaheb Ambedkar. You will be shocked."
"For my safai karmachari brothers and sisters, there was a dangerous law in the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act. There was a clause that if a safai mitra (sanitation worker) skipped work without informing beforehand, he/she could be jailed for a month. Think about it, what did they think of safai karmacharis? You will put them in jail for a small mistake? They now talk big about social justice. They made and kept such laws. It is Modi who is weeding out these laws and repealing them," the Prime Minister said.
Social justice and the Constitution are key planks Mr Gandhi has used to target the Narendra Modi government. So even though the Prime Minister did not name any specific leader, his target was apparent. This also comes amid Mr Gandhi's big offensive against the BJP and the Election Commission, alleging irregularities in voter lists.
With Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on the dais, the Prime Minister said the BJP has come to power in Delhi after a long time. "The previous governments destroyed Delhi, put it in a ditch. The BJP government has to fill that ditch and then progress will be visible. But I believe this team you have elected will pull Delhi out of that situation," he said.
The Prime Minister said that the BJP is now in power in Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. "This shows that the people in this region have blessed the BJP and we are working tirelessly for them. But some political parties cannot digest this. They are cut off from public trust and ground realities," he said, taking a swipe at rivals.
Hitting out at the Aam Aadmi Party, which lost the Delhi election to BJP, the Prime Minister said, "Some months back, a conspiracy to create a rift between the people of Delhi and Haryana was hatched. It was even said that Haryana was poisoning Delhi's water. Delhi NCR is now free of such negative politics," he said.
The Prime Minister today inaugurated a key stretch of the Urban Extension Road-II and the Delhi section of Dwarka Expressway. The projects, with a combined cost of Rs 11,000 crore, will aid the commute of people in the Delhi-NCR region and reduce congestion on the capital's roads. "When the world judges India, it first looks at our capital, Delhi. We have to make Delhi a model of a developed India. Our government has worked on this at multiple levels. In the past 11 years, travel has become easier in Delhi NCR," the Prime Minister said.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Derogatory comment on B.L. Santhosh is part of urban naxals campaign against Hindu religious places: Harish Poonja
Derogatory comment on B.L. Santhosh is part of urban naxals campaign against Hindu religious places: Harish Poonja

The Hindu

time2 minutes ago

  • The Hindu

Derogatory comment on B.L. Santhosh is part of urban naxals campaign against Hindu religious places: Harish Poonja

The derogatory comments made by an activist against BJP national general secretary B.L. Santhosh were part of the urban naxals' campaign to defame Hindu religious places, said Harish Poonja, MLA for Belthangady, on Sunday. Talking to reporters in Belthangady, Mr. Poonja said derogatory personal comments were being made against Mr. Santhosh for his criticism of a section of activists, who were using the ongoing probe into the mass burial bodies, to defame the Dharmasthala temple. Mr. Poonja was reacting to comments by Mahesh Shetty Timarody against Mr. Santhosh in his interview with Kudla Rampage online news portal, during a campaign seeking justice for the 2013 rape and murder victim Soujanya. The MLA said Mr. Santhosh has been among the Swayam Sevaks who have been putting their personal interests aside and fighting for the cause of the country. By speaking ill of Mr. Santhosh, a section of activists has defamed the entire Rashtriya Swayam Sevaks. Statements hurting religious sentiments of devotees have continued, as the State government has failed to act tough against 'fictitious reporting' and 'derogatory' comments against the Dharmasthala temple and the revered 'Annappa' spirit, in connection with the probe by the Special Investigation Team on the mass burial issue, the MLA said. Mr. Poonja reiterated the demand for reinvestigation into rape and murder of Soujanya and punishment for the real accused. The Special CBI Court acquitted the lone accused, Santosh Rao, in 2024 for want of evidence. The Karnataka High Court then turned down the demand for a reinvestigation of the case.

People of West Bengal want SIR, says State BJP chief
People of West Bengal want SIR, says State BJP chief

The Hindu

time2 minutes ago

  • The Hindu

People of West Bengal want SIR, says State BJP chief

The West Bengal unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday (August 17, 2025) said the people of the State want Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls on the lines of the exercise being carried out in neighbouring Bihar. The remark by the State BJP leadership came after Chief Election Commissioner Gynaesh Kumar said on Sunday (August 17, 2025) that three Election Commissioners would decide when the SIR exercise would be carried out in West Bengal and other States. 'People of West Bengal want SIR. If someone is scared, then it is their problem. People of West Bengal do not want West Bangladesh and another August 16 (Direct Action Day),' State BJP president Samik Bhattacharya said on Sunday (August 17, 2025). The West Bengal BJP leadership, including Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, has been demanding SIR in the State for the past few months. Mr. Adhikari has claimed that four categories of voters, including dead voters and voters who are residents of Bangladesh, will be removed from the voter list. The Trinamool Congress leadership has said it will oppose any SIR tooth and nail. Trinamool Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee has a few days ago spoken against selective SIR in certain States like West Bengal and called for dissolution of the Lok Sabha. 'The EC has stated that the voter lists across various States on the basis of which the general elections were held barely a year ago in 2024 are faulty and riddled with irregularities. If that is indeed the case, and if the Government of Inidia agrees with the EC's assessment, then the first step towards conducting a genuine SIR and standing on moral high ground is the immediate dissolution of the Lok Sabha,' Mr. Banerjee posted on social media on August 13. Recently, the release of the 2002 SIR data for West Bengal has caused a stir in the State. Elections in West Bengal are scheduled in 2026.

'SIR means stealing votes from the people of Bihar': Rahul slams BJP, ECI
'SIR means stealing votes from the people of Bihar': Rahul slams BJP, ECI

Business Standard

time2 minutes ago

  • Business Standard

'SIR means stealing votes from the people of Bihar': Rahul slams BJP, ECI

The Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Sunday hit out at Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Election Commission (ECI) for "manipulating" voter lists, alleging that votes were being stolen in the name of "Special Intensive Revision" (SIR). The Congress Leader Rahul Gandhi and RJD Leader Tejashwi Yadav today held a 'Voter Adhikar Yatra' in Aurangabad district. Addressing the public at the 'Voter Adhikar Yatra' in Aurangabad, the Congress MP said, "SIR means stealing votes from the people of Bihar. Earlier, they used to do it secretly. Now they are doing it openly in front of everyone." He launched a scathing attack on the ruling BJP, stating that neither he, nor Tejeshwar Yadav, nor the people of Bihar are afraid of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, and the Election Commission. "The people of the election commission say that yes, we will cut voters, and we will not tell you, we will not show you the voter list. What will you do? I will tell you what we will do. We are going to show you the power of the people. We are going to show you the power of Bihar. Modi ji, Amit Shah ji and people of the Election Commission should understand that I am not afraid of you, neither Tejeshwar Yadav nor Bihar. I am saying this as a guarantee, the truth of vote theft. We will put it in front of every citizen of India, in front of their eyes," he later added. The Congress MP alleged that the Election Commission, saying, "The Election Commission asks for an affidavit from me. But when Anurag Thakur says the same thing that I am saying, it does not ask for an affidavit from him." The Leader of Opposition further claimed that in Maharashtra, the INDI bloc won the Lok Sabha elections, but the BJP swept the Vidhan Sabha elections held four months later. "Wherever new voters came, the BJP won there. Our votes did not decrease. The INDIA alliance got as many votes in the Vidhan Sabha as it had in the Lok Sabha. BJP got all the new voters. So we got suspicious," Rahul Gandhi said. The Congress leader alleged that when the INDIA bloc asked the Election Commission to explain the sudden addition of new voters, the poll panel refused to respond. "Election Commission tells us that we will not explain. We do not need you to explain. Then we told them that you have installed CCTVs. The law is that CCTV cameras will have to be provided to any party asking for CCTV. They say they will not provide CCTV. Then we said give us the voter list. They say they will not provide the electronic voter list. The Election Commission and the BJP together have committed theft in Bengaluru Central. I am telling you this with a guarantee," the Congress MP added. The Congress party is currently holding a 16-day 'Voter Adhikar Yatra', protesting against the alleged 'vote chori' that Opposition parties have accused the Election Commission and the BJP of perpetrating. The yatra began from Bihar's Sasaram today, with several leaders, including Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Pawan Khera, Kanhaiya Kumar and others participating. The Chief Election Commisioner of India on Sunday refuted allegations of "vote theft" by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and asked him to either furnish a signed affidavit or apologise to the nation for his remarks. The CEC also termed the allegations of bias by the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabhas as an "insult" to the Constitution of India."...An affidavit will have to be given or an apology should be made to the country. Teesra koi vikalp nahi (There is no third option.) If the affidavit is not received within 7 days, it means that all these allegations are baseless..." CEC Gyanesh Kumar said while addressing mediapersons at a briefing at the National Media Centre in the national capital. Rahul Gandhi had on August 7 addressed a press conference in New Delhi, in which he presented Congress' research on voting in the Mahadevapura Assembly in Karnataka, a part of the Bangalore Central parliamentary constituency. Gandhi alleged "vote chori" (vote theft) of 1,00,250 votes ,including duplicate voters, invalid addresses, and bulk registrations of votes at single locations. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store