Unveiling a Chhatrapati Shivaji statue in Maharashtra’s Kolhapur on Saturday, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi attacked the BJP, saying the saffron party wanted to do away with the Constitution, which the Maratha warrior king had laid the foundation for. Later that day, the Congress MP reiterated that when the INDIA bloc comes to power, it will conduct a caste-based census and increase the reservation ceiling.
“Our Constitution came into being from what Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj thought. If you take the name of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, then you must respect the Constitution and the ideology he stood for. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj always took along people of all sections of the society,” Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, said, holding up a copy of the Constitution.
“The BJP set up a Shivaji Maharaj’s statue in the Rajkot fort in Sindhudurg. But after a few days, it broke and fell. This is because the BJP had bad intentions. BJP leaders wake up in the morning and make plans on how to do away with the Constitution Shivaji Maharaj envisaged,” Gandhi said.
Stating that the statue was not a mere statue, Gandhi said, “We have all gathered here to unveil the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. This is not merely a statue. This is a thought. A statue is set up only when we respect the thought of that individual. We are carrying forward the ideology Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj fought for his entire life. If we don’t carry forward that ideology, then there is no point in unveiling the statue,” he said.
The equestrian bronze statue of Shivaji Maharaj on Kolhapur is 20 feet tall and weighs around 2,000 kg.
Later in the day, Rahul Gandhi addressed a ”Constitution conference” where he reiterated that when the INDIA bloc comes to power, it will carry out a caste-based census and a socio-economic survey. At the same time, he said, their government will increase the reservation ceiling beyond 50 per cent.
”Caste-based census is India’s X-ray. We know we have suffered an injury but we want to know how deep that injury is. We want to know exactly what is happening. We don’t know how many OBCs there are… Therefore, we will do an X-ray and will conduct the caste-based census. We will get a resolution passed in Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha for the caste-based census and for increasing the reservation ceiling,” he said.
The Congress MP said, be it Prime Minister Narendra Modi or the BJP, they will not be able to stop the caste-based census or increase the reservation ceiling. ”After this, real politics will get underway. Once the caste-based census gets started, we will have the complete data in our hand,” he said.
Gandhi said, BJP and Sangh have closed all the doors. ”We have to open these doors, we have to protect our constitution. If the constitution is gone, everything will be gone. Modi harped on the theme of getting more than 400 seats…Then the people of this country without saying a word showed him during the Lok Sabha what will happen if he talks of changing the constitution. Modi does not believe in the constitution, he has been forced to bend to the people’s power,” he said.
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