Constitution in pocket: PM Modi's dig at Rahul Gandhi at Kisan Tak Conference

Prime Minister Narendra Modi took an apparent swipe at Rahul Gandhi at the Kisan Tak Conference, saying some people think the Constitution is in their pocket. He also described power as an intoxicant and recalled his tenure as Gujarat CM.PM Modi takes a dig at Rahul Gandhi during Kisan Tak Agri Conference. (Credits: Youtube/IndiaToday)New Delhi,Nov 12, 2026 21:25 ISTPrime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday took a swipe at the Opposition, accusing some leaders of treating the Constitution and democracy as their personal property and displaying a sense of entitlement even when they are out of power.Speaking at the India Today Group's Kisan Tak Bharat Agriculture Conference 2026, Modi also recalled an incident from his tenure as Gujarat Chief Minister, alleging that the then central government had pressured researchers to seek its approval before publishing economic rankings."These days, some people take the Constitution out of their pockets and think that the country's Constitution and democracy are in their pockets," Modi said, in an apparent reference to Opposition leaders.He added that some leaders continued to display what he described as an unusual sense of entitlement despite no longer being in government. "Even when they are not in power, they behave this way. It is a strange kind of intoxication with power," he said. Modi then said he wanted to share an anecdote from the time when the same political establishment was in power at the Centre.PM MODI RECALLS GUJARAT'S TOP RANKINGRecalling his tenure as Gujarat Chief Minister, Modi said the state had secured the number one position in an economic performance ranking published by an organisation named after a former Prime Minister. "At one time, the media used to rank states based on their performance. In one such ranking related to the economy, Gujarat came number one, and I was the Chief Minister at the time," he said.Without naming the organisation, Modi hinted that it was named after a former Prime Minister, adding that the ranking was based on research conducted by some of the country's leading economists.However, he claimed that Gujarat's recognition did not go down well with the political establishment in Delhi at the time."The people in power in Delhi could not accept Gujarat being honoured. They actually instructed the researchers that things would not work this way and that, before publishing any report, they would have to seek our approval," Modi said.The Prime Minister used the anecdote to accuse the then central government of attempting to influence the publication of research findings that recognised Gujarat's economic performance.PM MODI JOKES ABOUT MEDIA SEEKING A NEGATIVE HEADLINEDuring his address, Modi also made a light-hearted remark about media coverage of his speech, suggesting that journalists might be waiting for a critical headline."People from Aaj Tak must be thinking that they haven't got a negative headline so far. So, there should be some discussion for a headline as well," he said.He added that he had so far been speaking about the country, suggesting that the media might not have found his remarks particularly controversial.The Prime Minister's comments came during his address at the agriculture conference, where he spoke about the Constitution, democratic institutions, the Opposition and his experience as Gujarat Chief Minister.- Ends