As the BJP and the Congress battle for the legacy of B.R. Ambedkar, chairman of the drafting committee of the Constitution, the competition acquired a higher pitch on Tuesday with Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi flagging off the party’s year-long commemoration of the Dalit icon’s 125th birth anniversary next April 14 from his birthplace in Madhya Pradesh’s Mhow.
This came a day after Congress president Sonia Gandhi wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to bring the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities (Amendment) Bill to Parliament in the monsoon session, pointing out that it had been promulgated as an Ordinance by the previous UPA government shortly before it demitted office to strengthen the implementation of the original Act.
The context for her letter was a recent spate of atrocities against Dalits, the most chilling the one that took place on May 14 in Rajasthan’s Nagaur district when a long standing land dispute led to 17 Dalits being mowed down by a tractor, driven by a largely Jat mob.
This came on the heels of Ms. Gandhi directing all Congress units to organise commemorative functions through the year to honour the Dalit icon.
For the Congress, Mhow's significance lies not just in its being Ambedkar's birthplace but also in its being one of the three places associated with the Dalit icon that the Government is planning to develop as part of the slew of activities under consideration for the anniversary.
On Saturday evening, Ms Gandhi convened a meeting of the Dr. Ambedkar’s 125th Birth Anniversary Celebrations Committee — attended by the party’s senior-most leaders including former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
On the same day, the union cabinet was apprised about the constitution of a Committee under the Chairpersonship of the Prime Minister to suggest different programmes and activities to be undertaken to celebrate Ambedkar’s anniversary. This includes setting up a memorial and an international centre in his name; observing Ambedkar’s birthday on April 14 every year as National Bandhutva Bhav / Samrasta Divas, organising lectures and competitions on his life, bringing out a Braille edition of all his writings, and dedicating a tableau to him in next year’s Republic Day Parade.
‘Where was Rahul all these years?’
The battle between the BJP and the Congress is well and truly joined now as was apparent when, while announcing the government's initiatives, Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment Thawar Chand Gehlot also took a potshot at the Congress vice president.
"Rahul Gandhi and his party never honoured Ambedkar. Neither he got Bharat Ratna nor his oil painting installed in Parliament premises as long as Congress was in power. If today somebody is going there (Mhow), I want to ask why did he not do it for so many years? Today they (Congress) are doing it as the land beneath their feet has slipped," he said.
