'You are not the people of India': Rahul Gandhi hits out at BJP in Lok Sabha

Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Friday sharpened his attack on the BJP in the Lok Sabha, saying the party “is not the people of India” and should not “hide behind the people and the armed forces”.

Responding to protests from treasury benches during his speech, Gandhi said, “The BJP thinks that they are the people of India; they also think that they are the armed forces. You are not the people of India, you are not the armed forces, so you should not hide behind the people and the armed forces.” His remarks came amid a heated debate on the Constitution amendment bill linked to women’s reservation and two related bills on delimitation and implementation in Union Territories.

Lacing his speech with analogies and jibes, Gandhi alleged that the bill “has nothing to do with women’s reservation” and is instead an attempt to redraw India’s electoral map to retain power, calling it “nothing short of an anti-national act”. “This is an attempt to change the country’s electoral map, using and hiding behind India’s women,” he said.

He urged the government to implement the 2023 Women’s Reservation Act, assuring the opposition’s support for its immediate passage.

Gandhi also accused the government of bypassing the caste census and avoiding giving representation to OBCs. “They are trying to avoid giving power to my OBC brothers and sisters and instead take power away from them,” he said, alleging the real agenda was “Manuvaad over Samvidhan”.

Calling the move “very dangerous”, he said the government was attempting to “rejig the Indian political map” out of fear of losing political strength, and alleged similar actions had been taken in Jammu and Kashmir and Assam. He further claimed that southern, northeastern and smaller states were being told their representation would be reduced for the BJP to remain in power.

“What the government is doing is nothing short of an anti-national act. The entire opposition will defeat this attempt,” he said. Gandhi also alleged that the bill was a “panic reaction” by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to project a pro-women stance while attempting to alter the electoral map.

His speech triggered repeated disruptions, with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh objecting to his remarks and demanding an apology. The Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill to amend the women’s quota law, along with the Delimitation Bill and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, were introduced in the Lok Sabha on Thursday.
(With PTI inputs)