Constitution soul of India, must defeat attempts to weaken it: Hooda

Gurugram, May 6 (PTI) Constitution is the soul of India and every Congress worker in the country must fight to ensure that it remains strong, former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said here on Tuesday.

Hooda, who was in Gurugram as part of the Congress' Samvidhan Bachao Abhiyan, said all efforts to weaken the Constitution must be defeated.

Addressing a public meeting, the Congress leader said, "Constitution is the soul of India. It binds the whole country with one thread. But today, there is an attempt to weaken the power of the Constitution, the country's federal structure and its constitutional institutions." He said, "Today, inappropriate comments are being made on the Supreme Court and investigation agencies are being misused for political malice. There is an attempt to hurt reservation, and the electoral process is being tampered with. All these are activities that weaken the democracy and the Constitution." Hooda said the Congress will not let these plans of the BJP succeed. "This is why the Congress is taking this campaign to the people. The Constitution is the protector of the country. So every citizen must come forward to protect the Constitution," he said.

Interacting with reporters later, Hooda said Congress welcomes the caste census.

"The party and especially Rahul Gandhi had been raising this demand from every platform. The BJP had to finally bow down and agree to a caste census. Now, the Congress will also demand removal of the 50 per cent cap on reservation," he said.

Commenting on Punjab government stopping Haryana's share of water, Hooda said it is an attack on the federal structure and the Congress will strongly oppose it.

"If the government takes appropriate steps in Haryana's favour, Congress will support it. Similarly, if the Central government takes any action against Pakistan, then Congress stands strongly with the government. The Congress has given this assurance to the government at the all-party meeting," he said. PTI COR RUK RUK