Gujarat’s political spat over Dr. BR Ambedkar intensified on Tuesday as Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel said that the Congress only ever built memorials and named highways and hospitals after members of the Nehru-Gandhi family, never attempting to create a memorial for Ambedkar. In response to the controversy surrounding Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah’s recent remarks in Parliament, Gujarat Congress chief spokesperson Manish Doshi attacked the two men.
According to the Gujarat BJP, the Chief Minister is heard saying in a video that the Congress “always insulted Ambedkar and that it should apologise unconditionally to the entire country” for that reason. The Chief Minister can also be heard claiming that Ambedkar did not receive the Bharat Ratna from the Congress. The Chief Minister alleged, “Congress did not allow the construction of a single memorial of Babasaheb (Ambedkar). The government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has built a memorial of Babasaheb in London where he used to live; a memorial was a memorial was built in Delhi at his (Ambedkar’s) residence; memorials have been built at Diksha Bhoomi of Nagpur and Chaitya Bhoomi of Mumbai. Congress never took any step to build a memorial of Babasaheb. They only created hurdles”.
In contrast, he continued, “hundreds of memorials were constructed throughout the nation, and roads and hospitals were named after Rajiv Gandhi, Indira Gandhi, Sanjay Gandhi, and Jawaharlal Nehru.” Press conferences are being held by the same Congress under Babasaheb Ambedkar’s name. In the video, he continued, “Congress should stop such hypocrisy.” He further asserted that Congress “defeated” Ambedkar in the 1952 and 1954 elections and compelled him to step down as law minister. According to him, Jawaharlal Nehru even supported Narayan Sadoba Kajrolkar, who won the election and defeated Ambedkar.
With reference to the ongoing controversy and protests surrounding Shah’s recent statement in the Rajya Sabha about Dr. Ambedkar, Chief Minister Patel claimed that the Congress was politicizing the subject by presenting only a brief excerpt of Shah’s speech without providing any background.
The chief minister added that even the BJP respects those who oppose it but have helped to create the country. However, the Chief Minister claimed in the video that “only one family is everything for Congress.”
The Gujarat Congress responded sharply to the Chief Minister’s comments in the meantime.
Doshi added, “A person like the Home Minister has spoken from the floor of Parliament in an insulting manner (about Ambedkar). And the BJP is roaring instead of getting ashamed (of it),” said Doshi. “What is very sad is that sitting at the top position, the Prime Minister is promoting such activity instead of getting his colleague (Shah) to shut his mouth or asking him to apologise…BJP and RSS have been trying to damage the Constitution and Congress party and its leaders including Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi will continue the fight to save the Constitution”.
Doshi asserted that the fact that the BJP, whose leaders and ideologues earlier declared that the Constitution should be thrown into the Arabian Sea, is now discussing Babasaheb Ambedkar is a victory for the Congress party and the nation as a whole.
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