NEW DELHI, Dec 23: Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on Monday alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is proposing the “elimination of the Constitution” and undermining its core principles of equality, while asserting that the Opposition would build a structured resistance to remove the party from power.
Speaking during an interaction with students at the Hertie School in Berlin last week, Gandhi accused the BJP of launching a “full scale assault” on India’s democratic institutions and capturing the country’s institutional framework to consolidate political power.
An hour-long video of the interaction, titled “Politics is the Art of Listening”, was released by the Congress on December 22. In it, Gandhi said India’s democracy the largest and most complex in the world is a global public good, and any attack on it has implications beyond the country.
“What the BJP is proposing essentially is the elimination of the Constitution elimination of the idea of equality between states, languages and religions, and the central constitutional principle that every individual has equal value,” Gandhi said.
He maintained that the Opposition’s fight was not merely against the BJP as a political party, but against what he described as its capture and weaponisation of institutions. “When there is an attack on the democratic system, the Opposition has to find ways to counter it. We will create a system of resistance that will succeed,” he said.
Responding to questions from students, Gandhi claimed there was a “wholesale capture” of institutions and a “weaponisation” of the electoral and administrative machinery. He alleged that key institutions were no longer performing their intended roles.
Drawing a comparison with Europe, Gandhi said India successfully built an economic and political union in 1947 based on constitutional values, something Europe took decades to achieve. “Indian democracy is not just an Indian asset; it is a global asset,” he said.
The Congress leader also questioned the fairness of recent elections, claiming the party had clearly won the Haryana polls and alleging irregularities in the Maharashtra election.
Attacking central agencies such as the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Gandhi alleged they were being used selectively for political purposes. “The BJP views the institutional framework of India as belonging to them and uses it as a tool for building political power,” he said.
Gandhi also criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s economic policies, claiming the current economic model had reached a point of stagnation. He alleged that the BJP and the RSS had merely extended the economic framework established under former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh without offering new solutions.
On the INDIA bloc, Gandhi said alliance partners may have tactical differences but remain united in opposing the ideology of the RSS. “When unity is required, it happens every day in Parliament,” he said.
Rahul Gandhi was on a visit to Germany last week as part of an overseas outreach programme.