Bengaluru: Charging the Prime Minister Narendra Modi with behaving like a puppet in the hands of the RSS, Congress President M Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday accused the organisation and the BJP of conspiring to distort the Constitution. He also called upon Congressmen and party leaders to face the upcoming Lok Sabha polls with unity and protect the Constitution and democracy.

The Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha was speaking after unfurling the national tricolour at the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee office here on the occasion of Republic Day.

Addressing Congress workers and leaders, he said the Constitution contains important principles like equality, fraternity, secularism and justice.

“The RSS and BJP are conspiring to distort this Constitution and to make changes to it. All efforts are being made by the BJP to destroy or weaken our autonomous bodies one by one. Especially as Modi is behaving like a puppet in the hands of RSS, our judiciary or our secularism is facing the brunt,” he added.

State Congress President D K Shivakumar, who is also the Deputy Chief Minister, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and other senior party leaders were present.

The Congress party has fought for the freedom of the country, the AICC chief said, but the BJP is claiming to be the “only saviours” of this country. They speak about patriotism and are projecting to the youth that only they are true patriots, and rest all are traitors.

Recalling the struggle by the Congress and several of its stalwarts including Mahatma Gandhi in getting freedom for India, he said, “but today the BJP, the Prime Minister and Home Minister (Amit Shah) are making all efforts to make it the puppet in their hands. So it is important for us to save our freedom and Constitution for the good future of our younger generation.” “If there is no democracy and Constitution, there will be no opportunity for any of us,” he added.

Stating that B R Ambedkar on January 26, 1949 had spoken about the importance of good people implementing the Constitution, Kharge said, “what he had said then is coming true today, the people who have to implement the Constitution now are not good, so we are witnessing all that is happening in the country now.” Claiming that there is a threat to the Constitution and democracy, the Rajya Sabha member from Karnataka said inflation and unemployment is rising by the day.

“To control this, in the upcoming elections, you will have to take loyal people into the party and strengthen it. It should not be that they join today and quit tomorrow….Think before inducting someone into the party, and checking their background and ideology is important,” he said, adding that the Congress is bound by its ideology.

These comments from Kharge came a day after the former Karnataka Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar rejoined the BJP quitting the Congress. He had joined the Congress, quitting the BJP ahead of the Assembly polls last year on not getting a BJP ticket to contest the elections.

Appealing to Congressmen to stay united to protect the Constitution and democracy, he said: “In the upcoming elections too we have to show our unity. This is my suggestion and instruction to you. I’m confident that you will follow it.”