Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday said that the opposition INDIA bloc parties walked out of the Rajya Sabha during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech as he was “lying”. He further lashed out at Modi, saying it is the Prime Minister’s “habit” to “lie and mislead people”.

Kharge’s comment came shortly after the Opposition walked out of the upper House of the Parliament while Modi was speaking about the Constitution.

“It’s his habit to lie, mislead people, and say things beyond truth. They (BJP) say that we (Congress) are against the Constitution, but the truth is that BJP-RSS, Jan Sangh and their political forefathers had strongly opposed the Constitution of India. They had burnt the effigies of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar and Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru at that time. This was a shameful thing,” Kharge told the media.

According to Kharge, Ambedkar had given the credit for drafting the Constitution to Congress.

“I just wanted to clarify who was for the Constitution and who was against it. RSS wrote in their editorial in 1950 that the bad thing about the Constitution is that there is nothing about India’s history. They opposed the Constitution. They are against it since the beginning and they say that they are for it,” the Congress leader added.

Modi, during his reply to the Motion of Thanks on the President’s address in Rajya Sabha, spoke about the importance of the Constitution formulated by Dr BR Ambedkar and how it has enabled him to hold public office.

“The Constitution is not just a compilation of rules for me, and I respect its spirit and every word in it,” Modi said.

He further attacked the Opposition, saying that he had suggested November 26 be celebrated as Constitution Day, but it is those who “wave around the Constitution these days who said that we already have Republic Day and rejected my idea.” At this point, the Opposition leaders began protesting in the Parliament.

As the Opposition leader walked out, Modi said that the country was watching and that those who “spread lies do not have the strength to hear the truth”.

“Those who do not have the courage to face the truth do not have the courage to listen to the answers to questions that were raised in these discussions. They are insulting the Upper House, the glorious tradition of the Upper House,” he added.