The Bharatiya Janata Party - led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh - hit back strongly to Rahul Gandhi's Monday afternoon speech in Parliament, accusing the Congress MP, and new Leader of the Opposition, of insulting all Hindus.

This was after Gandhi - who came armed to deliver his first speech as the LoP with a copy of the Constitution and photos of religious figures, including Lord Shiva - launched a fierce attack on the BJP and its ideological mentor, the RSS.

PM Modi rose twice to rebut the Congress leader's remarks.

"Calling the entire Hindu society violent is a serious issue..." Modi said first.

His second intervention drew jeers from his rivals; the PM declared the Constitution had taught him to respect the post of the Leader of the Opposition, which is held today by Gandhi.

The jeers were because the opposition has claimed the government is trying to subvert the Constitution - a charge the BJP has trashed - and Gandhi was among MPs adding "Jai Samvidhan" to their oaths last month.

"It feels nice... BJP people are repeating 'Jai Samvidhan' after me," he quipped.

Gandhi began his speech by claiming a "full-scale and systematic assault on the idea of India... the Constitution... and on people who resisted the attack on the Constitution". Many opposition leaders were "personally attacked", the Congress leader thundered and said "some are still in jail".

Gandhi also displayed images of Guru Nanak Dev - for which he was admonished by Speaker Om Birla - and flagged a commonality in their most popular poses - the outward-facing right hand, which is also the Congress's symbol.

"Darao mat... daro mat... (don't scare, don't be scared)," Gandhi asserted, referring to the 'abhaya mudra' - which teaches one to dispel fear - and identical lessons he said are taught by all religions.