54-year-old leader calls himself yuva: Amit Shah takes dig at Rahul Gandhi in Rajya Sabha

Speaking in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday during a debate to commemorate 75 years of the Constitution, he responded to Rahul Gandhi and the Congress' allegations that the BJP wants to change the Constitution.

Shah argued that if the Congress could change the Constitution 77 times and even introduce a clause to curb the freedom of expression, they could not object to the "One Nation One Election" Bill on the grounds that it requires constitutional amendment.

"Our Constitution has never been considered immutable. Article 368 has a provision to amend the Constitution. A 54-year-old leader, who calls himself 'yuva' (youth), keeps roaming around with the Constitution, claiming that we would change it. I want to say that the provision to amend the Constitution is built in," Shah said.

Speaking in the Rajya Sabha after it was introduced in the lower house, Shah said, "Another amendment was brought by Indira Gandhi which gave Parliament the power to curtail the fundamental rights of the citizens".

Then mentioning Article 19A, he questioned why it was brought in. "To curtail the freedom of expression," he said amid loud protest from Congress members.

Union law minister Arjun Ram Meghwal tabled the constitutional amendment bills for holding Lok Sabha and assembly elections simultaneously in the Lower House of the Indian Parliament on Tuesday amid opposition from a large section of the opposition leaders.

The opposition sought a division of votes after the law minister moved the motion to introduce the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Ninth Amendment) Bill, 2024 and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024 in the Lok Sabha.

The bills will now be referred to a joint committee of the two Houses, Hindustan Times reported.

The constitutional amendment bill is aimed at synchronising Lok Sabha and state legislative assembly elections.

Although a high-level committee, headed by former president Ram Nath Kovind, had recommended in its 18,626-page report that municipal and panchayat elections be held parallelly national and state elections in phases, the Cabinet has opted to exclude, "as of now," the framework for local body elections.

Several INDIA bloc parties, including the Congress and AAP, have opposed the decision, arguing that it could disproportionately benefit the ruling party.