Jammu: BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh on Tuesday launched a scathing attack on the Congress, accusing the party of repeatedly disrespecting Dr B R Ambedkar, both before and after Independence.
Chugh alleged the Congress forced Ambedkar to resign, citing his resignation letter as evidence of the “mindset” of first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru towards Ambedkar.
He also criticised the Omar Abdullah-led government, accusing it of losing the trust and support of the people by failing to deliver on its promises.
“I was reading a newspaper report (about protests). The Congress party has a long history of disrespecting Dr Ambedkar—during his lifetime and even after his passing (away). This is evident from their actions before and after Independence, including forcing him to resign.
“If you analyse his resignation letter, it exposes the biased mentality of Pandit Nehru, who, as Prime Minister and Congress president, consistently opposed Ambedkar’s ideology,” Chugh told reporters on the sidelines of a function here.
He further said, “The Congress, which has consistently insulted Dr Ambedkar during his lifetime, opposed his ideas both before and after Independence.”
Chugh alleged, “If you look at his letters, you will see how Pandit Nehru opposed reservations. The country can never forget how Nehru wronged Ambedkar. Even Nehru awarded the Bharat Ratna to himself, and later Indira Gandhi did the same. However, Ambedkar was denied this honour during their regimes.”
Praising his party’s decision to honour Ambedkar, Chugh said, “It was only during a Bharatiya Janata Party-led government that Ambedkar was finally awarded the Bharat Ratna—40 years after his death.”
Lashing out at the Congress, he said, “Today, the Congress leaders are shedding crocodile tears, but I want to ask if Rajiv Gandhi, their leader, opposed reservations in Parliament or not.”
Taking a dig at Chief Minister Omar Abdullah over his “failure” to address issues confronting the people, Chugh said “The Omar Abdullah government has lost its identity, trust, and public support. It has descended into politics of revenge and vendetta, completely forgetting the promises made to the people.”
He alleged Jammu and Kashmir is grappling with severe power and water crises. “Instead of addressing these pressing issues, Omar Abdullah continues to make fanciful and baseless statements,” Chugh said.
BJP general secretary accused Abdullah of trying to deprive the underprivileged classes of their rights on the pretext of rationalisation of reservation policy.
“The country is run according to the Constitution and nobody will be allowed to fiddle with the rights of the Dalits, Gujjars, Paharis and other underprivileged classes of the society”, he said.
He alleged that the INDIA bloc and the National Conference (NC) have deprived the underprivileged classes of their rights and they are again working on conspiracies to do the same. “In the NC government, members of the Valmiki samaj could not get a government job and the BJP gave the constitutional right of reservations to these people”, he said.
Meanwhile, The Congress held an Ambedkar Samman March in Jammu city on Tuesday to protest against Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s remarks on the chief architect of the Constitution, and reiterated its demand for an apology.
The march is part of a nationwide protest to demand accountability from the home minister.
The Congress launched a weeklong campaign against Shah, alleging that he insulted Ambedkar with his remarks while participating in a debate on the Constitution in the Rajya Sabha last week.
Led by the Congress’ Jammu and Kashmir working president Raman Bhalla, scores of workers, former ministers, ex-legislators and senior leaders marched from Ambedkar Chowk.
Slogans against the BJP and Shah, and hailing Ambedkar, reverberated in the rally, which culminated at the divisional commissioner’s office.
Congress leaders submitted a memorandum demanding respect and dignity for Ambedkar.
“The agitation has now reached the ‘sadak’ from Sansad. We will continue to hold marches to ensure justice for the architect of the Constitution. We will not tolerate any insult to Ambedkar,” Bhalla told reporters.
The Congress demands Shah’s resignation and a public apology for his remarks, he said.
