New Delhi: Hitting out at the Congress, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath pointed to the “unconstitutional and unethical insult” done to BR Ambedkar by the grand old party.
Talking at a presser in Lucknow on Tuesday, he highlighted the disrespect and affront that Baba Saheb was subjected to from time to time by the Congress and other opposition parties. “Baba Saheb played an important role during the independence of the country and the creation of the Constitution,” the CM underlined while speaking to the reporters.
CM Yogi Adityanath added that each Indian has a feeling of respect towards Baba Saheb. “The Bharatiya Janata Party has worked to build the country of Baba Saheb’s dreams. The BJP has given respect to Baba Saheb Bhimrao Ambedkar.”
Adityanath stated that Congress has a long history of insulting Dalits in the country, as the party tried to deny the underprivileged their rights on the basis of appeasement.
The UP CM claimed: “Congress brought the country to the brink of partition on the basis of appeasement… Jawaharlal Nehru did not want Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar to be a part of the Constituent Assembly.”
Row over Shah’s remarks rages on
Adityanath’s comments come as both parties are locked in a war of words over the Ambedkar issue. The row escalated after Home Minister’s comments on Ambedkar in the Parliament.
During a speech on the debate on the Constitution, Shah flayed the Congress for allegedly misusing Ambedkar’s name for political mileage. Shah said, “There’s a fashion now of saying ‘Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar’. If one takes God’s name this many times, one would get into heaven. Take Ambedkar’s name 100 more times, but I will tell you how you really feel about Ambedkar ji.” In a sharp response, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge accused the BJP and RSS of downplaying Ambedkar’s contributions.
Since then, the BJP and opposition have been at loggerheads over the issue. On Tuesday, a fierce scuffle broke out between Congress and BJP councillors during the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation meeting as a heated exchange over Amit Shah’s remarks on BR Ambedkar took a violent turn.