New Delhi, 13 Dec

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Friday claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was unmoved over the incidents of violence in Sambhal and Manipur and had not understood that the Constitution was not the Sangh's rule book.

Participating in a debate on the Constitution in the Lok Sabha, Priyanka Gandhi said the Constitution is a protective shield of justice, unity and freedom of expression but the BJP-led government has made every effort to break it in the past 10 years.

"The prime minister touches his forehead to the Constitution but when there are cries for justice from Sambhal, Hathras and Manipur, there is not a wrinkle on his forehead," the newly elected Wayanad MP said in her maiden speech in Parliament. "It seems that Prime Minister Modi hasn't understood that it is 'Bharat ka Samvidhan' not 'Sangh ka Vidhan'," Priyanka Gandhi said.

The government, she said, is working to weaken the reservation policy through lateral entry and privatisation. "Had the Lok Sabha election results not come as they have, the government would have started work on changing the Constitution," Priyanka Gandhi said. "The truth is that they are chanting 'Constitution' because they realise the people of this country will keep the Constitution alive."

According to her, people were demanding a caste-based census and even the ruling party was talking about it because of the election results. "When the entire opposition called for a caste-based census, they talked about cattle and 'mangalsutra' getting stolen," the Congress MP said in an apparent reference to the Lok Sabha election campaign.

Priyanka Gandhi said the Constitution has given the message of unity to the nation, and accused the BJP-led government of pursuing divisive politics.

The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won 293 seats in the Lok Sabha elections earlier this year. The BJP won 240 seats on its own against the halfway mark of 272.