Ambedkar's birth anniversary celebrated as political parties
Ambedkar's birth anniversary celebrated as political parties vie for his legacy
As the birth anniversary of Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, the chief architect of the Constitution, was celebrated across the country on Monday, political parties squabbled to claim the Dalit icon's legacy
Prime
Minister Narendra Modi pays tribute to BR Ambedkar on his birth anniversary in New Delhi, on Monday. (PTI PHOTO)
NEW DELHI/NAGPUR — As the birth anniversary of Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, the
chief architect of the Constitution, was celebrated across the country on
Monday, political parties squabbled to claim the Dalit icon's legacy with Prime
Minister Narendra Modi calling the Congress the "destroyer of
Constitution".
Hitting back, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge
accused the Modi government of paying only "lip service" to
Ambedkar's legacy but doing nothing to fulfil his wishes, and claimed the
BJP-RSS were his "enemies".
Earlier in the day, thousands of people from across the
country arrived at Deekshabhoomi in Nagpur, Maharashtra to pay tributes to
Ambedkar on his 134th birth anniversary and take part in various programmes
scheduled to mark the occasion.
Ambedkar embraced Buddhism at Deekshabhoomi in 1956,
making it a revered site for his followers.
President Droupadi Murmu, Vice President Jagdeep
Dhankhar, Prime Minister Modi and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla paid floral
tributes at the statue of Ambedkar in the Parliament House Complex.
Senior Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Kharge, and Rahul
Gandhi also paid homage at the statue of Ambedkar.
President Murmu said Ambedkar's contributions across
various fields would continue to inspire future generations to work with
dedication towards nation-building.
Modi said that it was due to his inspiration that the
country was dedicated to realising the dream of social justice. His principles
and ideas will strengthen and speed up the building of an 'aatmanirbhar'
(self-reliant) and developed India, he said on X.
Later, addressing a gathering in Haryana's Hisar, the
prime minister alleged that the Congress has become the "destroyer of the
Constitution" framed by Ambedkar.
"Babasaheb Ambedkar wanted to bring equality, but
Congress spread the virus of vote bank (politics) in the country. He wanted
every poor person to live with dignity, with heads held high, to dream and
fulfil them. But the Congress made the SCs, STs and OBCs second-class
citizens," he said.
Modi alleged the Congress turned the pious Constitution
"into a weapon to gain power" and spread the "virus" of
vote bank (politics).
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge claimed that the
Modi government paid mere lip service to him and reiterated the demand for a
caste survey to push social justice.
While Modi led the BJP's charge on its rivals and its
push to be identified as the champion of constitutional values espoused by
Ambedkar, Kharge alleged the BJP-RSS were his "enemies".
The Congress chief cited a letter by Ambedkar in which he
blamed SA Dange and VD Savarkar for his defeat in the elections of 1952. The
BJP has often accused the Congress of ensuring Ambedkar's defeat in the Lok
Sabha elections in 1951-52.
Speaking to reporters, Kharge reiterated his party's
demand for a nationwide caste survey as well as implementation of reservation
for Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs) and Other Backward Classes
(OBCs) in private academic institutions.
Meanwhile, Mayawati, a former Uttar Pradesh chief
minister and supremo of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) -- a party long
identified with Dalits but whose political fortunes have tumbled -- said the
"social, economic and political conditions of the Bahujans in the country
are as pathetic in the BJP rule as in the Congress rule".
Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav joined other
parties in lauding Ambedkar and projecting his outfit as the true champion of
his ideals.
The former UP chief minister urged people to unite to
strengthen the "PDA" movement to save the Constitution, a swipe at
the BJP.
"(Let us) reiterate that the Constitution is the
life-giver and the Constitution is a shield and that as long as the
Constitution remains safe, our honour, respect, self-respect and rights will
remain safe," Yadav said.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister and BJP leader Mohan Yadav
accused the Congress of historically harbouring a "feeling of
hostility" towards Ambedkar and demanded an apology from the party.
Coinciding with Ambedkar's birth anniversary, the
Congress government in Telangana issued an order on the implementation of SC
categorisation, making it the first state in the country to do so, Irrigation
Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy said.
The categorisation is aimed at ensuring that the more
disadvantaged communities among SCs benefit from reservation as it has been
alleged that its benefits are mostly cornered by socially and economically more
empowered sections.
Born in a Dalit family in 1891, Ambedkar was a brilliant
student who went on to study abroad and made a mark for his scholarship in
economics and law, and his passionate championing of the interests of Dalits at
a time when the community was at the margins of social and political influence.
The discrimination he suffered in Indian society turned him into a committed
social reformer.
