Hyderabad: All India Congress Committee (AICC) president Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday dared the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) to try removing ‘socialist’ and ‘secular’ from the Preamble of the Constitution of India. He asked the saffron party as to why it included the same words in the party’s constitution if its ideology does not support them.

Addressing the Samajika Nyaya Samara Bheri meeting attended by village-level party workers at the LB Stadium here on Friday, Kharge challenged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah to remove these words from the Constitution. He felt that this was hypocrisy on their part to include the same words in their party constitution and demand the removal of same words from the Indian Constitution.

“I am challenging the BJP, Modi and Shah. They can’t remove and none can remove these words from our Constitution,” he affirmed, while referring to the Article 2 of the BJP’s cnstitution. “The party (BJP) shall bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India as by law established and to the principles of socialism, secularism and democracy and would uphold the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India,” he read out from the BJP’s constitution.

The AICC president expressed optimism that the 42 per cent reservation for BCs will be implemented in the local body polls, besides education and employment. Appreciating the state government for conducting the caste survey in Telangana, Kharge asserted that the Congress would ensure that BCs get their due in the power and resources in proportion to their population.

Kharge further asked as to why the Prime Minister who was touring the entire globe had failed to take stock of the situation in the violence-hit Manipur. On the Pahalgam terror attack, Kharge recalled how the entire Opposition and nation backed the Centre’s action. Referring to the way the BJP government agreed for ‘ceasefire’ with Pakistan following the announcement of US President Donald Trump, the AICC president demanded answers on the issue. He felt that the nation's foreign policy was compromised under the BJP rule, and as a result, India has enemies in all corners.

“Modi’s foreign policy is not good, because of which we have enemies from all corners. On one side, there is China and on the other, Pakistan. Today, Nepal is also distancing itself from us. Everybody is moving away from us,” said the Congress veteran. He blamed Modi for ruining the country's economy during the past 11 years.