New Delhi, Jan 26: On the occasion of the 71st Republic Day, the Congress on Sunday sent a copy of the Constitution to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and took a dig at him saying, "when you get time off from dividing the country, please do read it".
The opposition party posted several tweets on its official Twitter handle, alleging that the government was subverting the Constitution.
The Congress also tweeted the videos of Congress president Sonia Gandhi, former prime minister Manmohan Singh, former party chief Rahul Gandhi and general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra reading the Preamble from a protest assembly at Rajghat recently.
"Dear PM, The Constitution is reaching you soon. When you get time off from dividing the country, please do read it. Regards, Congress," the party tweeted along with the snapshot of an amazon receipt which stated that the copy of the Constitution was being dispatched to the Central Secretariat.
In another tweet, the Congress said a lesson the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has failed to understand is that all persons no matter creed, caste or gender are guaranteed equality before the law under Article 14 of the Constitution.
"It is this article that is completely violated by the government's Citizenship Amendment Act," the party said.
"It is important to remember that it is enshrined in our Constitution that all persons are protected from discrimination of any form. Therefore, any attempt to draft laws based on discrimination are unconstitutional," it said.
Both Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi extended their greetings to the people on the occasion of the Republic Day.
In a message on the eve of the Republic Day, Sonia Gandhi urged people on Saturday to rise above personal prejudices and stand united to protect the Constitution and its values, claiming that they are being attacked through a "deep-rooted" conspiracy.
"A deep-rooted conspiracy has been hatched to set a discourse to divide countrymen based on religion, regionalism and language as also to subvert and undermine the Constitution. An unprecedented atmosphere of disturbance, fear and insecurity has been foisted upon the country.
"The common citizen is convinced that the constitutional values are no longer safe in the hands of the present dispensation," she had said.
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Lakhimpur Kheri (UP) (PTI): Ten people were killed when a van collided head-on with a truck on the Sisaiya-Lakhimpur national highway on Monday, police said.
The van was going to Sisaiya from Lakhimpur when the accident took place between Unchgaon and Bharehta villages.
Circle Officer of Dhaurahra, Shamsher Bahadur Singh, said all nine passengers travelling in the van and the driver were killed.
District Magistrate of Lakhimpur Kheri Anjani Kumar Singh told reporters that the van collided with a truck coming from the opposite direction, leading to nine casualties on the spot, while one succumbed to injuries at the district hospital.
Circle Officer, Dhaurahra, Shamsher Bahadur Singh told PTI, "Efforts are on to establish the identity of other deceased persons."
The seven of the deceased have been identified as Jaideep Singh (25), Pawan (23), Sohan (21), Ram Goyal (42), Sahajram (35), Pappu (18), all residents of Bahraich district and Adnan Khan (15), a resident of Lakhimpur Kheri district, police said.
Condoling the loss of lives in the accident, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in a post on X, said, "The loss of life in the unfortunate road accident in Lakhimpur Kheri district is deeply distressing and heart-wrenching. My condolences are with the bereaved families."
"I have directed the local administration to provide prompt and adequate assistance to the injured and the victims. I pray to Lord Shri Ram to grant the departed souls a place at His divine feet and to bestow a speedy recovery upon the injured," Adityanath said on X.
Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak too condoled the loss of lives in the accident.
"The loss of lives resulting from the road accident in Lakhimpur Kheri district is deeply tragic and heart-wrenching. My deepest condolences go out to the bereaved families," Maurya said.
