Taking a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the police encounter of a man involved in robbery in Uttar Pradesh's Sultanpur, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha on Saturday said that touching the Constitution to the forehead in front of the cameras is just a pretense "when your governments are openly violating it".

Taking to X (formerly Twitter), the senior Congress leader criticized the BJP government, stating that the Mangesh Yadav encounter once again demonstrated that the state government does not respect the rule of law.He said, "In BJP-ruled states, the 'law and constitution' are being flouted by those who are supposed to enforce them.""The tears of Mangesh's family are asking a question to the whole country—who will decide who lives and who doesn’t: the courts or the police?" he added.

Significantly, Gandhi also criticized the central government for remaining silent, referring to claims that the BJP government is allowing a professional force like the STF to operate as a "criminal gang." He argued that this shows the centre's tacit approval of the state's "Thoko Niti" (knock down policy).

He further added, "Touching the Constitution in front of cameras is just a pretense when your own governments are openly tearing it to pieces." He concluded by demanding that all suspicious encounters in Uttar Pradesh be investigated impartially and that justice be served.