Constitution a shield to protect people's rights: Rahul Gandhi

Our Constitution is the greatest weapon for every Indian — it is our voice, the protective shield for our rights. Our republic stands on the strong foundation of this very document, which will be empowered only through equality and harmony, he says

New Delhi: Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Monday said the Constitution is the greatest weapon for every Indian and protecting it meant protecting the Indian Republic.

Greeting people on the occasion of 77th Republic Day, Rahul said, "our Constitution is the greatest weapon for every Indian — it is our voice, the protective shield for our rights. Our republic stands on the strong foundation of this very document, which will be empowered only through equality and harmony."

"Protecting the Constitution is protecting the Indian Republic — it is a true tribute to the sacrifices of our freedom fighters. Jai Hind! Jai Constitution!," Rahul, who attended the Republic Day parade at Kartavya Path along with Congress president and Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, said on 'X'.

Kharge, who unfurled the national flag on India's 77th Republic Day at his official residence, said the need of the hour is that all stand firmly in defence of the principles and spirit of the Constitution.

"Justice, liberty, equality, and fraternity—these are the enduring values bestowed upon us by our founders, and safeguarding them is our sacred duty. We must be prepared to make every necessary sacrifice to protect the Constitution. This alone will be our true tribute to the sacrifices of our ancestors," he posted on 'X'.

In his message on the eve of Republic Day on Saturday, Kharge had said that those committed to secular ideals are being targeted through "orchestrated propaganda" while economic inequality has widened to "frightening" proportions.

Over the past decade, he said, an "embittered and divisive" agenda rooted in religious fundamentalism had "fractured" the social fabric of India and its "most vulnerable" citizens and groups, including SCs, STs, women, marginalised and minorities were being treated as "second class citizens".