Attempt being made to destroy Constitution: Priyanka

Coming down heavily on the BJP, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Sunday said the Constitution is not respected and an attempt is being made to destroy it.

Holding a roadshow in Silchar in support of Congress candidate and sitting MP Sushmita Dev, she also said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has toured the world over, but hardly spent time in his own constituency in Varanasi.

"It is 'Mahapurush' (B R) Ambedkar ji's birth anniversary. He laid the foundation of this country through the Constitution. It is the duty of every leader to respect that Constitution.

"Today, you are seeing that the Constitution is not respected and an attempt is being made to destroy it," said Gandhi, who is Congress's general secretary in-charge of Uttar Pradesh East.

Slamming the BJP's manifesto, she said there is no space for different cultures and religions in it, as well as any respect for the Constitution.

Gandhi said she was told by people in Varanasi that Modi did not spend even five minutes with anyone there in the last five years.

"He went to America and hugged there, went to China and hugged there, too. He went and hugged in Russia and Africa. He went to Japan and played the drum. In Pakistan, he had biriyani.

"But in his own constituency, he did not go once to a family's house to enquire about their condition," she alleged.

Speaking highly of Sushmita Dev, Gandhi likened the Congress lawmaker with her grandmother and former prime minister Indira Gandhi.

"If you remember Indira Gandhi even today, it is because she worked for you. I have come here for Sushmita. She has that courage which Indira ji had. Sushmita has that honest and good intention, and wants to work for you from the heart," she added.