Mumbai: Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Thursday sharply criticized Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for accusing him of canvassing the votes of “urban Naxals and anarchists” by holding a “red book » in hand during a rally in Mumbai. Nagpur on Wednesday. Fadnavis was referring to the pocket edition of the Indian Constitution with a red and black cover that Gandhi carried to his rallies.

Condemning Fadnavis’ comments in an article on X, Gandhi accused the senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader of insulting Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, the principal architect of the Constitution. “Putting up Babasaheb Constitution and demanding caste census is ‘Naxalite thinking’, says former Maharashtra BJP chief minister. This view of the BJP is an insult to Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar, son of Maharashtra and architect of our Constitution,” Gandhi wrote.

The Rae Bareli MP also urged the people of Maharashtra to come together with the Congress and the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in the upcoming state elections against the ruling Mahayuti government.

“In the Lok Sabha elections, the people of Maharashtra fought for the Constitution and brought a significant victory to Maha Vikas Aghadi. The people of Maharashtra will not tolerate the BJP’s insult against Babasaheb. They will join forces with Congress and the MVA to respond with full force to protect our Constitution from attack,” he wrote. The MVA won 30 of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in the general elections earlier this year.

The Congress MP also claimed that any “shameful attempt by the BJP” to stop his party from conducting a caste-based census in the country would fail. “Take it in writing. A caste census will be carried out,” he wrote.

During his visit to Nagpur on Wednesday, Gandhi brought an abridged version of the Constitution to an event where he once again argued for a caste census. Fadnavis was asked by journalists on Thursday to react to Gandhi’s comments. The deputy CM said, “My allegations made two days ago against Rahul Gandhi turned out to be true about his fondness for urban Naxals. He showed the red book and tried to ask for help (politically) from the urban Naxals and anarchists. He either warned them or asked for their help. Rahul Gandhi regularly indulges in such dramas. On a daily basis, he insults the Constitution in one way or another.”

The pocket edition of Gandhi’s Constitution, which has become a symbol of the opposition’s attack on the Narendra Modi government, is published by Lucknow-based Eastern Book Company. The company says it has sold thousands of copies of the book in recent months.