In a stunning rebuke to the Congress-led Karnataka government, the state’s High Court has delivered a powerful defense of fundamental rights, exposing the glaring contradiction between the party’s public posturing and its authoritarian actions. While Rahul Gandhi theatrically carries a copy of the Constitution in his pocket during political campaigns, his own government in Karnataka has been caught systematically violating that very document.
The court, headed by Justice M Nagaprasanna, didn’t merely stay the government’s controversial order requiring prior permission for public gatherings – it delivered a lesson on the constitution that should embarrass the Congress leadership. The bench explicitly stated that the government’s order violates Article 19(1)(a) and 19(1)(b) of the Constitution, which guarantee freedom of speech and expression and the right to assemble peacefully.
The Anatomy of a Constitutional Violation
What makes the Karnataka government’s action particularly egregious is the court’s clear explanation: under Article 13(2), fundamental rights can only be restricted by a law passed by the legislature, not through a simple Government Order. This basic constitutional principle seems to have escaped the Congress government, which attempted to bypass legislative process and impose restrictions through executive fiat.
The court’s reasoning was unequivocal: If it violates Fundamental Rights, it becomes invalid for all, not just a few. This exposes the government’s desperate attempt to limit the stay’s application only to the petitioner as constitutionally illiterate.
The Political Agenda Behind the Constitutional Violation
The timing and context of this order reveal its true nature. The controversial directive emerged shortly after Minister Priyank Kharge wrote to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah urging a ban on RSS activities in public spaces. This wasn’t about public safety or maintaining order – it was a blatant political move disguised as administrative action.
The court saw through this charade. By extending the interim stay to everyone, not just the petitioner, the judiciary prevented the government from selectively targeting organizations while claiming the order was neutral. The bench’s refusal to play along with the government’s request to confine the stay reveals how transparent the political motivation behind this order was.
Rahul Gandhi’s Constitutional Hypocrisy
The irony is thick enough to cut with a knife. Rahul Gandhi, who has made the Constitution his favorite political prop, whose social media team meticulously documents every occasion he’s seen holding the sacred document, presides over a party that doesn’t seem to understand its most basic provisions.
While Gandhi travels the country posing as the Constitution’s defender, his government in Karnataka was busy trampling on the very fundamental rights the document exists to protect. The court’s intervention raises an uncomfortable question: has Rahul Gandhi ever actually read the Constitution he so ostentatiously carries?
The High Court’s ruling exposes the Congress party’s constitutional commitment as selective and politically convenient. They’ll invoke the Constitution when it serves their political narrative but won’t hesitate to violate it when it suits their agenda of targeting ideological opponents.
The Bigger Pattern
This isn’t an isolated incident. It’s part of a pattern where the Congress, while positioning itself as a defender of democratic values, repeatedly demonstrates authoritarian tendencies when in power. The Karnataka episode reveals a party that understands the Constitution’s symbolic value but fails to grasp – or willfully ignores – its substantive protections.
As the matter heads for further hearing on 15 December 2025, with the interim stay continuing, the Karnataka High Court has done more than just check executive overreach. It has exposed the hollow nature of the Congress’s constitutional piety and given the nation a crucial reminder: carrying the Constitution matters far less than understanding and respecting it.
(Source: The News Minute)
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