BJP national president Amit Shah said that that his party is the real wellwisher of Dalits and alleged that the BSP and the Congress have only exploited the community for their vote bank politics.
Shah was addressing party workers at a Manavata Sadhavna function to highlight derogatory remarks by senior minister Mohammad Azam Khan against Constitution architect Dr B R Ambedkar in lucknow.
Shah hit out at Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi and said, the leader should know that his great grandfather -- Jawaharlal Nehru -- had prevented Dr Ambedkar's entry in the Parliament by ensuring his defeat in elections.
"But the previous Atal Bihari Vajpayee government honoured the great Dalit leader by feting him with Bharat Ratna award and even put a portrait of Dr Ambedkar in the Central Hall of Parliament," he said.
Besides, moving ahead with the traditions to honour the great leader, Prime Minister Narendra Modi convened a day-long special session of Parliament to release a coin with a picture of Dr Ambedkar on it.
"The BJP government also announced memorials at seven places on the name of Dr Ambedkar," Shah added.
The BJP president said that through Jan Dhan Scheme launched by the NDA government, over three crore dalits have opened their bank accounts. "Similarly, under Ujjawala scheme poor have been given lPG cylinders and this scheme has benefited lakhs of Dalit women," he said.
Shah said that along with Congress, the BSP and the SP have exploited Dalits. "BSP chief Mayawati claims her heart bleeds for Dalits but during her four regimes, she did nothing for them," he said.
"Whenever there is a SP government, atrocities against Dalits have increased. In this regime too, SP goons are freely grabbing the land and houses of the poor Dalits," Shah alleged.