<p>Patna: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday claimed that Prime Minister <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/narendra-modi">Narendra Modi</a> had harboured a wish to "throw away" the Constitution, but ended up bowing before it after the BJP's below-expectation performance in the Lok Sabha polls.</p>.<p>The Leader of the Opposition made the charge at a 'Samvidhan Suraksha Sammelan' here while mimicking the PM, evoking peals of laughter from the crowds.</p>.<p>Holding a copy of the Constitution close to his head, Gandhi said, "When Modiji entered Parliament after winning a third term, he did like this. He wanted to throw the Constitution away. But our concerted fight made him give up his boast of a 400-plus seat win for the BJP." Notably, remarks by a few BJP leaders that the Constitution might be "changed" if the party won more than 400 seats in the 543-strong Lok Sabha were latched on by the opposition I.N.D.I.A. bloc, led by Congress, in last year's general elections.</p>.Delhi Assembly Elections 2025 | Congress to switch gears; Rahul, Priyanka likely to hit campaign trail next week.<p>According to many surveys, the refrain "Constitution in danger" had resonated with a section of Dalits and backward classes who felt reservations could be done away with and refused to vote overwhelmingly in favour of the BJP-led NDA, causing the saffron party to fall short of majority and becoming heavily dependent on allies.</p>.<p>Gandhi, who spoke for a little over 30 minutes, also linked the Constitution with a long chain of progressive ideas in the country, starting from the Buddha, and continuing till the times of newer icons like Ambedkar, Narayana Guru and Mahatma Phule.</p>.<p>The function was addressed by people from various walks of life, two of whom were formerly associated with NDA partner JD(U), headed by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.</p>.<p>While Ali Anwar, an ex-MP who runs an organisation dedicated to the cause of Pasmanda Muslims, spoke at some length about issues he strongly felt about, Bhagirath Manjhi, the son of legendary stone-cutter Dashrath Manjhi, nicknamed "mountain man", gave a barely five minutes long speech in which he stressed on the need for placing society before self.</p>
<p>Patna: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday claimed that Prime Minister <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/narendra-modi">Narendra Modi</a> had harboured a wish to "throw away" the Constitution, but ended up bowing before it after the BJP's below-expectation performance in the Lok Sabha polls.</p>.<p>The Leader of the Opposition made the charge at a 'Samvidhan Suraksha Sammelan' here while mimicking the PM, evoking peals of laughter from the crowds.</p>.<p>Holding a copy of the Constitution close to his head, Gandhi said, "When Modiji entered Parliament after winning a third term, he did like this. He wanted to throw the Constitution away. But our concerted fight made him give up his boast of a 400-plus seat win for the BJP." Notably, remarks by a few BJP leaders that the Constitution might be "changed" if the party won more than 400 seats in the 543-strong Lok Sabha were latched on by the opposition I.N.D.I.A. bloc, led by Congress, in last year's general elections.</p>.Delhi Assembly Elections 2025 | Congress to switch gears; Rahul, Priyanka likely to hit campaign trail next week.<p>According to many surveys, the refrain "Constitution in danger" had resonated with a section of Dalits and backward classes who felt reservations could be done away with and refused to vote overwhelmingly in favour of the BJP-led NDA, causing the saffron party to fall short of majority and becoming heavily dependent on allies.</p>.<p>Gandhi, who spoke for a little over 30 minutes, also linked the Constitution with a long chain of progressive ideas in the country, starting from the Buddha, and continuing till the times of newer icons like Ambedkar, Narayana Guru and Mahatma Phule.</p>.<p>The function was addressed by people from various walks of life, two of whom were formerly associated with NDA partner JD(U), headed by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.</p>.<p>While Ali Anwar, an ex-MP who runs an organisation dedicated to the cause of Pasmanda Muslims, spoke at some length about issues he strongly felt about, Bhagirath Manjhi, the son of legendary stone-cutter Dashrath Manjhi, nicknamed "mountain man", gave a barely five minutes long speech in which he stressed on the need for placing society before self.</p>