Maya calls Congress anti-Ambedkar, anti-Dalit
UP chief minister Mayawati has blamed the Nehru-Gandhi family for conspiring to Dalits suppressed all these years.
By TNN |
NEW DELHI: The spat between the BSP and the Congress grew louder and uglier on Monday, the late B R Ambedkar���s 117th birth anniversary, with Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati blaming the Nehru-Gandhi family for ���conspiring to Dalits suppressed��� all these years.
"Whatever rights Dalits and Backwards had was due to Ambedkar and Nehru-Gandhi family had no contribution in it,������ Ms Mayawati said in Lucknow while addressing a gathering after inaugurating the Bhim Rao Ambedkar Samajik Parivartan Sthal.
The BSP leader, who has identified Congress as her enemy No 1 and has drawn elaborate plans to derail its electoral calculus in Uttar Pradesh and other states, took recourse to history to portray the principle ruling party at the Centre as being anti-Ambedkar and anti-Dalit.
In remarks certain to rub the Congress leadership the wrong way, the UP chief minister credited Ambedkar for taking steps to empower the Dalits and OBCs. ``The reservation benefits for Dalits and OBCs were not given by Congress or any other party, but it was due to Ambedkar that such a provision could be incorporated in the Constitution,������ she pointed out.
Charging ``Congress and Co��� with conspiring against the chief architect of Indian Constitution so that he could not become a member of the Constituent Assembly, Ms Mayawati claimed that during Partition, the Congress had ceded a particular area in West Bengal, represented by Ambedkar, to Pakistan so that he could not become a member.
The area had 42 % Muslim population and 58 % Hindus, but was given to Pakistan only to prevent Ambedkar from becoming a member of the Constituent Assembly, she claimed and asked BSP workers to beware of `Congress and Co���.
Ambedkar, the BSP leader pointed out, went to England and met leaders of the government, who then put a condition before the Congress leadership that India would be given freedom only if Ambedkar did not become as member of Constituent Assembly. The Dalit icon was later elected from Pune and became a member of the Constituent Assembly on July 9, 1947, she stated.
The UP chief minister accused the opposition parties of adopting double standards on the issue of erecting memorials for departed leaders. ``When the Congress had constructed memorials of its leaders in New Delhi, where land cost ran into crores, no one raised any question. But a hue and cry was raised when funds were spent on building a memorial for Ambedkar in the state capital,������ she alleged, adding that mainstream political parties were prone to adopting a casteist mentality when it came to building memorials for Dalit icons.
The Dalit leader did not spare the BJP either, asserting that it was only due to Ambedkar that the Indian Constitution was secular, and not based on the Hindutva ideology propagated by BJP.
"Whatever rights Dalits and Backwards had was due to Ambedkar and Nehru-Gandhi family had no contribution in it,������ Ms Mayawati said in Lucknow while addressing a gathering after inaugurating the Bhim Rao Ambedkar Samajik Parivartan Sthal.
The BSP leader, who has identified Congress as her enemy No 1 and has drawn elaborate plans to derail its electoral calculus in Uttar Pradesh and other states, took recourse to history to portray the principle ruling party at the Centre as being anti-Ambedkar and anti-Dalit.
In remarks certain to rub the Congress leadership the wrong way, the UP chief minister credited Ambedkar for taking steps to empower the Dalits and OBCs. ``The reservation benefits for Dalits and OBCs were not given by Congress or any other party, but it was due to Ambedkar that such a provision could be incorporated in the Constitution,������ she pointed out.
Charging ``Congress and Co��� with conspiring against the chief architect of Indian Constitution so that he could not become a member of the Constituent Assembly, Ms Mayawati claimed that during Partition, the Congress had ceded a particular area in West Bengal, represented by Ambedkar, to Pakistan so that he could not become a member.
The area had 42 % Muslim population and 58 % Hindus, but was given to Pakistan only to prevent Ambedkar from becoming a member of the Constituent Assembly, she claimed and asked BSP workers to beware of `Congress and Co���.
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Ambedkar, the BSP leader pointed out, went to England and met leaders of the government, who then put a condition before the Congress leadership that India would be given freedom only if Ambedkar did not become as member of Constituent Assembly. The Dalit icon was later elected from Pune and became a member of the Constituent Assembly on July 9, 1947, she stated.
The UP chief minister accused the opposition parties of adopting double standards on the issue of erecting memorials for departed leaders. ``When the Congress had constructed memorials of its leaders in New Delhi, where land cost ran into crores, no one raised any question. But a hue and cry was raised when funds were spent on building a memorial for Ambedkar in the state capital,������ she alleged, adding that mainstream political parties were prone to adopting a casteist mentality when it came to building memorials for Dalit icons.
The Dalit leader did not spare the BJP either, asserting that it was only due to Ambedkar that the Indian Constitution was secular, and not based on the Hindutva ideology propagated by BJP.
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