Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Friday unveiled “the full and awesome range of historic conspiracies and untruths plotted and carried out by leaders of the Congress party before and after Independence to block the rise of Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar to the top political and executive slot in the corridors of power”.
Speaking in Punjab Assembly, Badal drew on historical references and records while paying rich tributes to Baba Saheb on his 125th birth anniversary.
Nothing formal or ritualistic about Badal’s homage to the messianic visionary, he laid bare and flogged almost every age-old Congress myth of Ambedkar-Congress association and friendship.
“When Congress failed to stop him, they hijacked his legacy from his true heirs – the common people , especially the poor and the downtrodden,” said Badal making an impassioned plea for correcting historical falsities on the iconic freedom fighter and Messiah.
“The shocking truth is that Congress opposed Ambedkar Sahib’s presence in Constituent Assembly because they did not want a Dalit voice in the country’s destiny. They foiled Baba Saheb’s efforts even to become a Member of the Constituent Assembly from Maharashtra. Fortunately for India, he became a Member from Bengal as a non-Congress candidate,” said Badal, adding that the Congress similarly opposed Baba Saheb in all the parliamentary elections too. “
Referring to the cosmopolitan vision and stature of Baba Saheb, Badal said that it was wrong to describe Dr Ambedkar merely as a Dalit Messiah, although he was that too. “To call him a champion only of the Dalits in the country is to belittle the most outstanding stature of this rare genius.
“The country owes its very existence as a sovereign, secular, socialist and democratic republic to the Dr Ambedkar’s vision and commitment. He is a global icon for fight against discrimination, exploitation or repression. He stands in the same class as Martin
luther King and Nelson Mandela. It is only befitting that Baba Saheb’s 125th Birth Anniversary is being observed by the UNO,” said Badal.