It’s Samvidhan, not Sangh ka Vidhan, says Priyanka

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra defended India's Constitution in Lok Sabha, criticizing the BJP for alleged neglect of justice and linking it to common people's struggles.

India’s Constitution is not a set of rules dictated by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Wayanad parliamentarian Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said in her first address in the Lok Sabha on Friday, adding that the Bharatiya Janata Party realized the Constitution cannot be changed after its loss of seats in the 2024 polls.

Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in New Delhi on Friday. (ANI)

As the opening speaker for the Opposition during the debate on 75 years of the Constitution, Priyanka Gandhi tried to link Constitution with common people, offered a valiant defence of the Nehru-Gandhi family of and alleged that ordinary people believed that the Union government works only for a company.

“Our Constitution has given us the shield of unity. The Prime Minister touches the Constitution with his head. But when the call of justice comes from Manipur or Sambhal, he doesn’t even get a crease on his forehead. He has perhaps not been able to understand that India’s Constitution is not Sangh ka Vidhaan (rules of RSS). India’s constitution has given us unity and fraternity,” Priyanka Gandhi said.

The newest MP from the Gandhi family strongly defended her family, reminded the BJP that millions of people joined Rahul Gandhi’s “Mohabbat ki Dukan” (Bharat Jodo Yatra) in response to Union defence minister Rajnath Singh’s taunt, and hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not engaging with the people or on serious issues such as Manipur.

“We have all read the story about the king who would change his attire to interact with people to get their feedback on his administration. Today’s king loves to change clothes, but doesn’t have the courage to listen to people. I am in this House for 15 days. So many big issues are here, but the PM was seen only for 10 minutes. PM doesn’t even sweat over Sambhal and Manipur,” she said, referring to the violence in Uttar Pradesh that killed four people last month and the ongoing unrest in the northeastern state that has left at least 260 people dead.

She also alleged that had the Lok Sabha election results been different, the government would have started work on changing the Constitution.

Priyanka Gandhi hailed the Constitution as the armour of justice, aspirations, expression and hope for the common people and said it provided courage to people. “People always believed that if there’s nothing left, the Constitution will save us. But now people believe the government only works to make profits for a company,” she alleged.

Singh, who initiated the debate in the Lok Sabha, alleged that the Congress misused the Constitution in the past. In response, Priyanka Gandhi focused more on contemporary issues — communal violence in Sambhal, rape of a woman in Unnao, death of a sanitation worker in Agra in police custody, and the ethnic violence in Manipur — to allege that the Union government was trying to take away the safety of the Constitution.

“This is not just a document. Our Constitution gives us justice, aspiration, expression and hope. This light of the Constitution has empowered every person to fight for justice. This Constitution has given power to people to make or break a government,” she said.

“In Unnao, a rape victim was fighting daily for justice. She was killed, her father was beaten up, the crops were gutted. Her father told me he wants justice. This power to fight, this courage has been given by Constitution. In Agra, Arun Valmiki was beaten to death by police over theft charges. His young widow said, we want nyay (justice). This courage to fight for justice is a result of Constitution,” she said.

“I met two young boys from Sambhal, Adnan and Uzair. Their father was a tailor who got killed in police firing. The boys told me they want to fulfil their father’s wish. This hope, this dream has been given by Constitution. Our Constitution is a shield for justice, unity and freedom of expression but in the last ten years, the ruling side has tried to break this shield,” she said.

Priyanka Gandhi also strongly defended her family’s legacy, especially Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first prime minister who is often maligned by the ruling dispensation. “You can erase his name from books and speeches, but his contribution in this country can never be erased,” she said, counting the list of public-sector units and public institutes for education that were established by the first PM.

Taking on Singh for his criticism of Nehru, Priyanka Gandhi said, “Treasury bench spoke a lot about the past. What all Nehru did. Why don’t you talk about the present day and what is your responsibility? is Nehru responsible for everything?”

She highlighted Indira Gandhi’s bank nationalisation, United Progressive Alliance-era rights to food and education, and told the BJP, “You spoke about 1975 (the imposition of Emergency). Why don’t you also learn to say sorry for mistakes. Why don’t you return to ballot papers?”

“Earlier, people expected the government to talk about inflation and jobs, and that economic policy will be made for them. If land laws are changed, it will benefit farmers and poor. Why don’t you implement the women reservation bill now? Today’s women should not wait for 10 years for the law to come,” she said.

She reiterated the Congress’s allegations of collusion between an industrialist and the government, demanded a caste census, and mentioned how Opposition leaders face false cases and federal agency raids.

“Instead of giving relief to people. agricultural laws are planned for big industrialists. From Wayanad to Lalitpur, farmers are crying. Cold storages in Himachal Pradesh have been given... by the Centre. The country is watching how the government is saving one person, and all business, mines, airports, ports are being given away to one company,” she said, claiming the country believes that this government only works for an industrialist’s profit.

“You talk about political justice, but use money to overthrow elected governments. You spoke about UP. But what about Maharashtra and Goa? Those governments were also elected by people. Wasn’t the Constitution applicable on these governments? The country knows they have a washing machine. You laughed at ‘Mohabbat ki dukan’ but crores of people walked with the idea,” she said.

In his speech, Rajnath Singh had alleged that the Congress had always put power before Constitutional proprieties.

“Nowadays, I see several Opposition leaders carrying copies of the Constitution in their pockets. The reality is that they have learned this practice from their families, who have placed the Constitution in their pockets for generations,” Singh stated, in a veiled attack on senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.

Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi dubbed his sister’s speech as better than his first speech. “Wonderful speech. Better than my maiden speech, let’s put it like that,” he said.

BJP IT department head Amit Malviya said Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi could be “the biggest threat” to the political career of her brother and LoP Rahul Gandhi if her speech was any indication.