Congress buys copy of Constitution from Amazon, gifts to Modi with a message

Taking a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the occassion of the 71st Republic Day, the Congress on Sunday ordered a copy of the Constitution of India from Amazon and shipped it to the prime minister's office.

Posting the receipt of the order on Twitter, which will be shipped to the prime minister's office in E Block of the Central Secretariat, the Congress added a message to the gift. "Dear PM, The Constitution is reaching you soon. When you get time off from dividing the country, please do read it. Regards, Congress."

The tweet was part of several posts related to the Constitution that were being shared by the Congress, in protest against the controversial citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).

Interestingly, the receipt shows that the payment method will be "Pay on Delivery", suggesting that Modi or somebody from E block will have to pay for the Constitution when it arrives.

Saying that the CAA violates Article 14 of the Constitution, the Congress went on to share excerpts from the Constitution highlighting the rights to equality, protection against discrimination and freedom of peaceful assembly.

“A lesson the BJP has failed to understand is that all persons no matter creed, caste or gender are guaranteed equality before the law under Article 14 of the Constitution. It is this article that is completely violated by the govt's Citizenship Amendment Act,” one tweet read.

The Congress also tweeted a video explainer of the Preamble, directed at the BJP.

Clips of Congress president Sonia Gandhi, former prime minister Manmohan Singh, former party chief Rahul Gandhi and general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra reading the Preamble from a protest assembly were also shared.

In a message on the eve of the Republic Day, Sonia Gandhi urged people on Saturday to rise above personal prejudices and stand united to protect the Constitution and its values, claiming that they are being attacked through a "deep-rooted" conspiracy.

"A deep-rooted conspiracy has been hatched to set a discourse to divide countrymen based on religion, regionalism and language as also to subvert and undermine the Constitution. An unprecedented atmosphere of disturbance, fear and insecurity has been foisted upon the country... The common citizen is convinced that the constitutional values are no longer safe in the hands of the present dispensation," she said.

Meanwhile, BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra was also sharing images of the Constitution on Twitter on Sunday. Patra, however, was highlighting the artwork adorning the original document, which depicts scenes from Hindu mythology as well as images of the Buddha. 

While the BJP has yet to respond to the barb, PM Modi is expected to deliver his #MannKiBaat address at 6pm on Sunday. The party Twitter handle had several posts relating to the coming Delhi elections, with Home Minister Amit Shah leading an aggressive campaign in Delhi on a combination of national and hyperlocal issues.

With inputs from PTI