Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar’s 124th birth anniversary on Tuesday saw political parties going all out in the contest to woo the electorate and made attempts to be the real claimants of the ideology and principles of the Dalit icon. Both the ruling BJP and the Opposition Congress organised several events to commemorate the occasion and champion the cause of Dalit empowerment. While the Congress accused the BJP of trying to “usurp” the legacy of BR Ambedkar for “vote-bank politics,” BJP alleged that the Congress never gave due respect to Babasaheb.
Speaking at a function to mark the occasion, RSS general secretary Bhaiyyaji Joshi said Ambekdar was “not a rebellion” but a social reformer, who wanted to correct the flaws of Hindu society. Special editions of Organiser and Panchjanya — the two RSS affiliated weeklies — devoted to Ambekdar were also unveiled by Joshi in the presence of their editors Prafulla Ketkar and Hitesh Shankar respectively.
Former member planning commission Narendra Jadhav was also present on the occasion. Three lakh copies of both weeklies have already been sold in advance. Joshi said Baba Ambedkar was “a multi-faceted personality” and “a nationalist leader” though there have been attempt to portray him in “a limited way” as sectional leader. He said though persecuted and humiliated, Ambekdar loved Hindu society and did not call for a rebellion saying “our struggle is ideological within the Hindu society”.
“He spoke for seeking rights for his followers and not for class struggle”, joshi said. The RSS leader said Ambedkar had to wait till 1990 to receive Bharat Ratna whereas “a woman like Mother Teresa got it 10 years before him.” Joshi said Ambekdar raised the question of temple entry being preserve of some castes and Dalits not being allowed to take water from the spot where Muslims or Christians were not banned. He described the dalit icon as “ a Mahamanav.” A documentary on Ambedkar was also shown on the occasion.
Meanwhile, faced with the task of reviving its fortunes since the setback in lok Sabha poll last year, the Congress is making a bid to counter the portrayal of Ambedkar as “anti-Congress”. The Congress has also come out with plans to commemorate Ambedkar’s 124th anniversary.
Congress’s move came amidst concerns voiced in the party that BJP was trying to “appropriate” the legacies of icons who were either ignored or perceived to have been ignored by the Congress. Party president Sonia Gandhi hailed Dr BR Ambedkar as a “great icon of Modern India”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tributes to BR Ambedkar on his birth anniversary, and asked the countrymen to dedicate themselves to creating India that he dreamt of. “I bow to Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar on his birth anniversary - Jai Bhim,” Modi said in his message.
The AAP too made announcements to appease the Dalits who in fact are the major chunk of its voters in the national Capital. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced that vacant posts reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes category in the Government will be filled soon. While Mayawati who has been swearing her political career in the name of Ambedkar ever since inception of her Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) termed all other political parties including Congress and BJP as “anti-Dalit”, her arch rival Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav declared a public holiday on death anniversary of Dr Ambedkar which falls on December 6.
“The love of Congress, BJP, and SP for Babasaheb is politically motivated,” she alleged. The BSP supremo said Congress got Ambedkar defeated in first lok Sabha elections in 1952. Mayawati cautioned the Dalits that the Centre may confer Bharat Ratna to BSP founder Kanshi Ram and also declare Babasaheb’s bungalow at Delhi as a memorial before Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections in a bid to lure the community. She accused the Modi Government of depriving Dalits and backwards from benefits of reservation.