"Was, am and will belong to Amethi": Rahul Gandhi in Rae Bareli

Amethi (Uttar Pradesh) [India], May 17 : Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav on Friday attended a joint public rally in Uttar Pradesh's Amethi to campaign for Congress and INDIA bloc candidate KL Sharma. Speaking at the rally the Congress leader alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is attempting to "rewrite" the Constitution.
Amethi, the most-watched seat in the fifth phase, will go to the polls on May 20. The results will be announced on June 4.
Seeking votes for the Congress candidate, Kishori Lal Sharma, Rahul Gandhi said, "I came here for the first time 42 years ago with my father (Rajiv Gandhi). Whatever I have learned about politics, it has been taught to me by the Amethi public. At that time, there were no roads and no development. And I have witnessed the relationship of love between the people here and my father."
"And that is also (my style) of politics. So, you do not think that I am contesting from Rae Bareli... I was, am and will belong to the Amethi," he said.
He also termed the 2024 Lok Sabha elections a "distinct election." "For the first time, a political party and its leaders are saying clearly that they would rewrite the Constitution and throw it away. This is a legacy of Gandhiji's, Ambedkarji's, Jawaharlal Nehru's and every citizen of the country," he said while holding a copy of the Constitution in his hand.
Congress leader KC Venugopal and the former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot were also present at the rally.
He asked the gathering, "Would you let it (the Constitution) get erased? Is there any power in the world that can erase it?"
"The first thing we have to do is protect the Constitution. Why? It is your voice. Your future. Your thought is embedded in it. Whatever has been given to the poor people in the country so far, be it the right to land, assistance to farmers, or the green revolution, all of it has been achieved on the back of this book," Rahul Gandhi further said.
Lashing out at PM Modi, he said, "(Prime Minister) Narendra Modi wants to put an end to this (Constitution). If it disappears, then there would be no public sector, no jobs, skyrocketing inflation, reservations would come to an end, and all of your rights would be snatched one by one.
"In India, there would be 22-25 rich people left behind whose rights would be secured without it (Constitution). The rights of farmers, labourers, youth, mothers and sisters would be snatched, " said the Congress leader.
Speaking at the same rally SP Chief Akhilesh Yadav said that the BJP would struggle to get to 140 seats in the Lok Sabha polls
"The four phases of elections are over. Ever since the four phases have been over, the Bharatiya Janata Party has been completely defeated. Their chariot has sunk, is stuck and tell me, have those who were giving the slogan of 400 plus forgotten or not? The people of the country have decided that they will make the BJP yearn for even 140 seats. These people want to change the constitution, they want to change our rights, now the people will change them," he said.
In Amethi, Union Minister Smriti Irani is pitted against Congress candidate Kishori Lal Sharma, a longtime loyalist of the Gandhi family. The Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP) has named Nanhe Singh Chauhan.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will be contesting from Rae Bareli, where his mother was a five-time MP, before taking the Rajya Sabha route to the Parliament this year.
Polling for 80 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh is being held across all seven phases. The counting of votes is scheduled for June 4.