Congress Must Apologise For Insulting Baba Saheb Ambedkar: Vijender Gupta

(MENAFN- IANS) New Delhi, Dec 24 (IANS) Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly Vijender Gupta on Tuesday sought to expose Congress' alleged hypocrisy and its so-called disrespectful attitude towards Baba Saheb Ambedkar, accusing the grand old party of mocking and humiliating the Dalit icon.

Addressing media persons, Gupta said, "The Congress party, which consistently disrespected, ridiculed, and shamed Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar, is now pretending to claim his legacy. Congress' mindset has always been anti-Ambedkar. The party must offer an unconditional apology to the nation for the insults inflicted upon Baba Saheb by its leaders, especially Pandit Nehru."

Gupta pointed out, "Usually when a minister resigns, he is given the opportunity to speak on the floor of the House. However, Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar was not allowed to speak after his resignation.”

In his resignation letter, Ambedkar wrote extensively against Pandit Nehru. Highlighting his letter, Gupta stated that Baba Saheb mentioned,“I was well-educated in finance and industry, but I was not assigned any related department. I was not made a member of any parliamentary committee. Instead, I was given the Law Ministry but was not allowed to work honestly. I was obstructed in completing the Hindu Code Bill.”

“The government cared only about Muslims, not providing adequate protection for Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST). The Prime Minister's focus remained dedicated to the Muslim community. I have no objection to the protections offered to Muslims but does only the Muslim community need protection in this country?” wrote Dr Ambedkar, according to Gupta.

Gupta claimed that Congress deliberately hid Ambedkar's resignation letter from the public. "Had the letter been made public, Nehru's image would have suffered significantly. Congress needs to explain why it kept Ambedkar's resignation a secret. This betrayal reveals the deep disrespect of the Congress party towards Ambedkar."

The BJP leader said, "Nehru harboured complete indifference towards Ambedkar. In a letter to Dr B.C. Roy, Nehru wrote, 'Ambedkar's resignation will have no effect.' How can Congress, which consistently displayed contempt towards Ambedkar, now talk about respecting his rights?"

Gupta remarked, "Congress' attempts to hold press conferences against the BJP ring hollow, as this is the same party that hindered Ambedkar from becoming a member of the Constituent Assembly and forced him to resign from the Law Ministry."

Referring to historical records, he said, "After Ambedkar's resignation, Nehru wrote a letter to Edwina Mountbatten expressing his happiness about Ambedkar leaving the Cabinet. With such thinking, Congress has no moral authority to talk about honouring Ambedkar today."

The BJP leader added,“The evidence of Congress' misbehaviour and disrespect towards Ambedkar is undeniable, and the party must apologise to the nation unconditionally.”

The BJP, Gupta said, respects all individuals who have contributed honestly to building the nation, irrespective of ideological differences. Contrastingly, the Congress glorifies only one family, ignoring stalwarts like Sardar Patel, Maulana Azad, and Ambedkar. Gupta emphasised the BJP's acknowledgement of Ambedkar's contributions and criticised Rahul Gandhi for continuing the charade of respecting Ambedkar while carrying Congress' legacy of undermining him.

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