Etawah (UP), Apr 12 (PTI) Terming the Constitution as “raksha kavach” or protective shield of people, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday called for its protection saying if the Constitution becomes weak, then democracy will be weak too and this will result in dictatorship.

He also said that till now, it is the Constitution which had saved the PDA and now it is the responsibility of the PDA to save the Constitution.

The PDA coined by Yadav refers to a combination of ‘Pichhde’ (backward classes), Dalit and ‘Alpasankhyak’ (minorities).

Speaking at a function here to unveil a statue of Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar, Yadav said, “This Constitution is our foundation, it is a ‘karm granth’. We want to tell people who want to function as per their ‘manvidhan’ (whims and fancy) that the country will function as per the Constitution.” For this, Yadav asked people to take a pledge.

“If the Constitution becomes weak, then our democracy will become weak. And, when democracy becomes weak, it will result in dictatorship. People who want to function as per their ‘manvidhan, they want to take the country towards ‘ektantra’ (monopoly). That is why they are ‘ek rangee’ (uni-coloured).” “Those who want to snatch our rights, they are not in favour of democracy. Whenever any problem falls on us, it is the Constitution, which becomes a ‘raksha kavach’ (protective shield), and helps us. The Constitution is our ‘dhaal’ (shield). It is our identity. It gives us security and power,” Yadav said.

Showering praise on Ambedkar, he said, “There has been no scholar, economist and social reformer greater than Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar. He was successful in making the Constitution, because he had seen discrimination throughout his life. The malpractice which dates back to thousands of years did not end, even today, there are people in the society, who encourage it.” He said this type of hatred towards someone is only visible in our country.

“In the last elections (2024 Lok Sabha), I went to a temple and offered my prayers. Later, I came to know that the BJP people have got the temple washed with the ‘Gangajal’, while the temple priest told them not to do so,” he claimed.

Narrating his entry in the official residence of Uttar Pradesh chief minister, Yadav said, “Mayawati ji used to stay in the CM’s residence (during her tenure) before I went. I never got it washed by ‘Gangajal’.” He went on to add: “But, when this chief minister (apparently referring to Yogi Adityanath), who has become an Yogi putting a stamp of it, went to the CM’s residence, he got the CM residence washed by ‘Gangajal’. This discrimination exists even today. When such things can happen with me, then what can happen with the people of the ‘bahujan samaj’ (apparently hinting towards Dalits and backwards).” He also claimed that “our reservation is being snatched away”.

Posing a question to his audience, the SP chief said, “Who did this discrimination? There was a king Manu. He goofed up everything (ek Manu maharaj aaye thay, unhee ne sab garhbarh kar diyaa).” “If there is anyone, who guarantees respect for us, it is the Constitution (‘agar koi humme samman dilaataa hai to woh samvidhan hai’). Constitution is the elixir (‘sanjeevanee’). We want that the country should function as per the Constitution, but some people want to run it as per their ego (‘ahaankaar’). Some people feel that the Constitution is a blank book, and do not consider it as the Constitution,” he said.

Yadav also asked his audience to add the words ‘Jai Samvidhan’ to the slogan of ‘Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan’ given by former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri.

Taking a jibe at Adityanath, he asked the gathering, “Have you ever seen our CM playing cricket? I had seen him once. The ball bounced thrice, even then he could not hit it. We have also seen him doing Yoga by standing on one feet, and he makes big statements.” Yadav also said, “Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar had said that after India became independent, we cannot blame the British or the then government for introducing malpractice or say that because of them, we could not move on the path of development and prosperity. Because after the British went away, not only our country became independent, but Babasaheb also gave us the best Constitution in the world.” “In the last elections, when the SP gave the slogan of the PDA, and also pledged to save the Constitution, the result was that the Samajwadi Party bagged the highest number of Lok Sabha seats in UP. Today, because of the PDA, the Constitution of Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar, the socialist thinking of Dr Ram Manohar Lohia and the struggles of Netaji (Mulayam Singh Yadav), we are the largest party in UP, and the INDIA alliance has won the maximum seats,” he said.

Later speaking to reporters, he claimed, “Ever since the BJP government came to power, terrorist attacks have increased and army personnel have been martyred on a large scale.” He also claimed that “in order to hide their failure, they have deliberately created such an atmosphere in the entire country by bringing the Waqf Board bill”.

The SP chief said that no one will be able to show any disrespect to Ramji Lal Suman, and if the government still gives a free hand (to protestors), then the government will be responsible for this. PTI NAV ZMN