Rahul Gandhi quotes VD Savarkar in Parliament: ‘There’s nothing Indian about Constitution…’

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi (PTI Photo)

Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, during a discussion on 75th anniversary of adoption of the Constitution of India, quoted Hindutva ideologue Vinayak Damodar Savarkar’s remark that there is “nothing Indian” about our Constitution.

Gandhi said Savarkar, who is seen as an ideologue of the BJP and RSS, had said there is nothing Indian about the Constitution, and that he preferred Hindu religious text 'Manusmriti' to it.

“I want to start my speech by quoting what the Supreme Leader, not of the BJP but of the modern interpretation of the ideas of the RSS has to say about the Constitution of India and about how he thinks India should be run - "The worst thing about the Constitution of India is that there is nothing Indian about it. Manusmriti is that scripture which is most worshippable after Vedas for our Hindu nation and from which our ancient times have become the basis for our culture, customs, thought and practice. This book, for centuries, has codified the spiritual and divine march of our nation. Today, Manusmiriti is law." These are the words of Savarkar,” Gandhi said.

“Savarkar has clearly stated in his writings that there is nothing Indian about our Constitution. He has clearly stated that the book India is run by should be superseded by this book. This is what the fight is about,” he added.

Speaking in Lok Sabha, the Congress leader further spoke about what the Constitution of India stands for.  “In my last few speeches, I spoke about the concept of 'Abhaya Mudra', the concept of fearlessness, truth and non-violence, and I showed the House images of our different religions, displaying 'Abhaya Mudra'. People call the Constitution the longest written Constitution in the world, but the Constitution contains a set of ideas from one philosophy of our nation, one central philosophical set of ideas of our nation,” he said.

When we open Constitution, we can hear voice, ideas of BR Ambedkar, Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Gandhi stated.

The LoP also said that a battle is taking place in India, and recited the story of 'Eklavya' who had sacrificed his thumb as a tribute to Guru Dronacharya. "When you give Dharavi to Adani, you chop off the thumb of the small and medium businesses there...You have fired tear gas shells on farmers outside Delhi, the farmers are asking for fair prices...You are cutting the thumb of that farmer," he said.

His remarks came shortly after Union minister Kiren Rijiju tore into the Congress for not giving BR Ambedkar his due, as he questioned the opposition's claims that minorities were being denied their rights. While India has given equal voting rights to all, some claim that minorities have no rights in the country, Rijiju said in an apparent jibe at the opposition.