Amid chants of "Bharat Jodo" and holding a copy of the Indian Constitution, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi took the oath as a member of the Lok Sabha on Tuesday. Elected from Wayanad and Raebareli, Mr. Gandhi has vacated the Wayanad seat, which will now be contested by his sister, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
During the oath-taking, Mr. Gandhi stated, "I, Rahul Gandhi, having been elected a member of the House of People, do solemnly affirm that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India as by law established, that I will uphold the sovereignty and integrity of India, and that I will faithfully discharge the duty upon which I am about to enter. Jai Hind, Jai Samvidhan."
The sight of the Constitution booklet has become symbolic in this Parliament session. MPs from the INDIA Opposition bloc held up the booklets in a demonstration, with several posting photos on social media showcasing their commitment to the Constitution. In a media interaction, Mr. Gandhi emphasized that the Opposition would not allow the government to "attack the Constitution."
In response, the BJP launched a vigorous counter-attack on the Congress, highlighting the 50th anniversary of the Emergency imposed by Indira Gandhi's government. Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the charge, posting on social media, "Today is a day to pay homage to all those great men and women who resisted the Emergency. The #DarkDaysOfEmergency remind us of how the Congress Party subverted basic freedoms and trampled over the Constitution of India which every Indian respects greatly."
PM Modi criticized the Congress for disregarding democratic principles during the Emergency, stating, "Just to cling on to power, the then Congress Government disregarded every democratic principle and made the nation into a jail. Any person who disagreed with the Congress was tortured and harassed. Socially regressive policies were unleashed to target the weakest sections."
He added, "Those who imposed the Emergency have no right to profess their love for our Constitution. These are the same people who have imposed Article 356 on innumerable occasions, got a Bill to destroy press freedom, destroyed federalism and violated every aspect of the Constitution."
The Prime Minister concluded by asserting that the mindset behind the Emergency "is very much alive among the same Party which imposed it." He accused the Congress of hiding their disdain for the Constitution through tokenism, but noted, "the people of India have seen through their antics and that is why they have rejected them time and again."
