Parliament LIVE | Constitution is not the Sangh’s rulebook: Priyanka

Giving her maiden speech in the Lok Sabha, Priyanka said the Constitution was a protective shield of justice, unity and freedom of expression but the government made every effort to break it during the past 10 years.

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“This government is working to weaken the reservation policy through lateral entry and privatisation. Had the Lok Sabha election results not come as they have, the government would have started the work on changing the Constitution," she said.

‘Mangalsutra’ dig at BJP

"The truth is that they are chanting 'Constitution' because they realised that the people of this country will keep the Constitution alive," said the Lok Sabha member from Wayanad.

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She said the people were demanding a caste-based census and even the ruling party was talking about it because of the election results.

"When the entire opposition called for a caste-based census, they talked about cattle and 'mangalsutra' getting stolen," Priyanka said in an apparent reference to the Lok Sabha election campaign.

Congress tried to ‘hijack’ Constitution: Rajnath

Union Defence Minister and senior BJP leader Rajnath Singh, who initiated the debate in the lower house of Parliament accused Congress of being intolerant towards independence and autonomy of institutions and attempting to destroy the basic principles of the Constitution.

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Singh said the contribution of several leaders in the making of the Constitution was deliberately ignored and hit out at the Congress, asserting that "a particular party" always tried to "hijack and appropriate" the framing of the Constitution.

"On many occasions, the Congress has disrespected the Constitution and its spirit. It could not tolerate the independence and autonomy of institutions. It always tried to destroy the basic principles of the Constitution," he alleged.

"Talk of protection of the Constitution does not seem appropriate coming from it. These days, I see many opposition leaders keep the Constitution in their pockets. Actually, this is what they have learnt from childhood, they have seen their families keep the Constitution in their pockets for generations," he said.

The BJP, however, he said, bows before the Constitution and has never played with the independence and autonomy of institutions.

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