Asserting that the act was nothing but a testament to Congress’ disregard and hate for Ambedkar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the red book of the Constitution which was flaunted and distributed by the grand old party contained nothing.

PM Modi was referring to the recent event led by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in Maharashtra’s Nagpur, where allegedly the books with ‘Constitution of India’ written on the front containing blank pages except for the preamble on the first page were distributed.

However, the Congress refuted the allegation made by the BJP and accused it of spreading a fake narrative. The Congress clarified that a notebook and a pen was given to all those who had attended the event.

Addressing an election rally in Nanded, PM Modi said the entire country was in shock over “this foolish and unfortunate political play of Congress”.

Hitting out at the Congress, PM Modi said Congress has broken its own record in fraud. He said the grand old party is distributing its own red book in the name of the Constitution.

“It is written on the top of the Congress’s red book – Constitution of India! But, when people opened it from inside they found that the Lal Kitab was blank! Printing Lal Kitab in the name of the Constitution… removing the words of the Constitution from it… this is Congress’s old thinking to destroy the Constitution. These Congress people…want to run their own constitution in the country, not Baba Saheb’s,” he charged.

He said Congress is hell-bent on ‘divide and rule’. PM Modi accused the Congress of pitting one caste against another, one community against another, adding it wants to break the OBCs into factions so that they become weak. This is how the Congress wants to weaken the society, snatch away the reservation rights, and make ground for fulfilling its own selfish motives, PM Modi added.

“You will have to stay vigilant of Congress’ divisive tactics. You will have to stay aware of Congress’ hidden agenda of breaking and destroying the country. Remember, ‘Hum Ek Rahenge To Safe Rahenge’!” said Modi.

The Prime Minister said after independence, the first betrayal of Baba Saheb’s Constitution by the Congress party was in Kashmir. The whole country accepted Baba Saheb’s constitution but the Congress party implemented a different constitution in Kashmir through Article 370, he alleged. He added that a different flag was used in place of the Indian tricolour in Kashmir.

He alleged that for several years the people of Maharashtra had been a victim to the exploitation of the Congress party. Moreover, Congress had been a foundation for causing deterioration in Marathwada farmers’ lives, he added.

Modi said his party is committed to ensuring the welfare of everyone so as to give Maharashtra new wings of development whereas Congress never cared about the concerns of the farmers, women and children.

“Only when Maharashtra prospers can India truly develop! For that to happen, we must ensure that every family in Maharashtra flourishes. The central government and Mahayuti Alliance are working tirelessly to turn your dreams into reality. By electing Mahayuti candidates with a landslide victory, you’ll secure a brighter future for yourself and your loved ones,” PM Modi said.

BJP chief JP Nadda on Saturday asserted that his party will not allow tribal rights to children of infiltrator father and local Adivasi mother when voted to power in Jharkhand.

The JMM-led government has given shelter to Bangladeshi nationals and they would be driven out, said Nadda while addressing an election rally here at Bishrampur in Palamu district.

“Children of Bangladeshi infiltrator father and Adivasi mother will be denied tribal rights if BJP is voted to power in Jharkhand. It will not allow infiltration to continue,” the BJP chief said.

Nadda alleged that “corrupt people and thieves” are part of the JMM-led government in the state.

“Time has come to oust single engine government from Jharkhand and restore double engine government here for all-round development,” he said.

He claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi the budget given for the development of tribals of Jharkhand and the entire country has been increased three times. Likewise, he said PM Modi has increased the budget given for Eklavya Model Residential Schools for the education of children of tribal society by 21 times.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who also visited the state earlier today, accused the Hemant Soren-led government of rolling out a red carpet welcome to Bangladeshi infiltrators and said such forces will be deported as soon as the BJP forms government in the state.

Congress and JMM are spreading lies that the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) will claim tribal rights, he charged. The Home Minister made it clear that the BJP will put tribals out of its ambit.

“The JMM-led coalition has laid out a red carpet for Bangladeshi infiltrators, who settle in Jharkhand and grab tribal land, employment of youths, and indulge in anti-national activities. Let the BJP regime form. They will be deported, and not a bird will be allowed to cross the border,” Shah said at an election rally at Potka in East Singhbhum.

He asserted that the saffron party will put corrupt Congress and JMM leaders behind bars and release every paisa of poor people they looted.

“This election of Jharkhand is a very important election. In this election you have to decide whether you want a government that insults tribals and backward classes or a government that respects tribals and backward classes,” he said.

“If you want a government that respects tribals and backward people, then you will have to form a BJP government,” Shah added.

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has hinted at the Maharashtra caste census next after the Congress-led Telangana government kicked off the survey in the state on Saturday.

“Soon this will happen in Maharashtra also,” the former Congress chief said in a post on X (formerly Twitter). The Maharashtra Assembly election will take place in a single phase on November 20 and counting on November 23.

Gandhi said the party will use the data obtained from the Telangana caste census to formulate policies for the development of every section of the state.

“Modi ji, caste census has started in Telangana from today. We will use the data obtained from this to formulate policies for the development of every section of the state,” he said.

“Everyone knows that the BJP does not want to conduct a comprehensive caste census in the country,” said Gandhi.

Challenging Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Gandhi said Modi cannot stop the caste census across the country. “We will pass the caste census in this parliament and break the wall of 50% on reservation,” he said.

Earlier today in a post on X, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh announced that the Telangana government will kick off its long-awaited caste-based survey on Saturday and called it a historic and revolutionary moment for the state.

“The Congress Government in Telangana will begin its caste-based survey today. 80,000 enumerators will be going door to door over the next few weeks, covering over 1.17 crore households across 33 districts,” he said.

Ramesh said this is the first time a caste-based survey will be conducted by the government in Telangana since 1931. “It is a historic, revolutionary moment – one that is a realization of the Telangana Movement’s aspirations for the state and a fulfilment of one of the key ideals of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar’s Constitution,” he added.

“It is also, as Rahul Gandhi noted in Hyderabad earlier this week, a blueprint for the national caste census that the INDIA coalition’s Government will conduct. This census, and the lifting of the Supreme Court’s arbitrary ceiling of 50 per cent on reservations for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes are central to @INCIndia’s vision for the country,” Ramesh said.

Ramesh said the party is committed to the idea of social, political, and economic justice in India, as laid out in “our Constitution and as envisioned by India’s founding fathers”.

Earlier on Tuesday, Gandhi attended a meeting on the caste census at the Gandhian Ideology Centre in Telangana’s Bowenpally. Congress leader Dr Kota Neelima spoke about the significance of the meeting.

Telangana Backward Classes Welfare Minister Ponnam Prabhakar provided details about the caste survey, which is being conducted for the first time in Telangana.

In October, Prabhakar announced that a comprehensive caste survey would take place in Telangana from November 6 to November 30. The enumerators will conduct the survey by visiting houses from November 9, he said.