Ambedkar's birth anniversary celebrated as political parties vie for his legacy

     New Delhi/Nagpur, Apr 14 (PTI) As the birth anniversary of Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, the chief architect of the Constitution, was celebrated across the country on Monday, political parties squabbled to claim the Dalit icon's legacy with Prime Minister Narendra Modi calling the Congress the "destroyer of Constitution".
     Hitting back, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge accused the Modi government of paying only "lip service" to Ambedkar's legacy but doing nothing to fulfil his wishes, and claimed the BJP-RSS were his "enemies".
     Earlier in the day, thousands of people from across the country arrived at Deekshabhoomi in Nagpur, Maharashtra to pay tributes to Ambedkar on his 134th birth anniversary and take part in various programmes scheduled to mark the occasion.
     Ambedkar embraced Buddhism at Deekshabhoomi in 1956, making it a revered site for his followers.
     President Droupadi Murmu, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Prime Minister Modi and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla paid floral tributes at the statue of Ambedkar in the Parliament House Complex.
     Senior Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Kharge, and Rahul Gandhi also paid homage at the statue of Ambedkar.
     President Murmu said Ambedkar's contributions across various fields would continue to inspire future generations to work with dedication towards nation-building.
     Modi said that it was due to his inspiration that the country was dedicated to realising the dream of social justice. His principles and ideas will strengthen and speed up the building of an 'aatmanirbhar' (self-reliant) and developed India, he said on X.
     Later, addressing a gathering in Haryana's Hisar, the prime minister alleged that the Congress has become the "destroyer of the Constitution" framed by Ambedkar.
    "Babasaheb Ambedkar wanted to bring equality, but Congress spread the virus of vote bank (politics) in the country. He wanted every poor person to live with dignity, with heads held high, to dream and fulfil them. But the Congress made the SCs, STs and OBCs second-class citizens," he said.
     Modi alleged the Congress turned the pious Constitution "into a weapon to gain power" and spread the "virus" of vote bank (politics).
     Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge claimed that the Modi government paid mere lip service to him and reiterated the demand for a caste survey to push social justice.
     While Modi led the BJP's charge on its rivals and its push to be identified as the champion of constitutional values espoused by Ambedkar, Kharge alleged the BJP-RSS were his "enemies".
     The Congress chief cited a letter by Ambedkar in which he blamed SA Dange and VD Savarkar for his defeat in the elections of 1952. The BJP has often accused the Congress of ensuring Ambedkar's defeat in the Lok Sabha elections in 1951-52.
     Speaking to reporters, Kharge reiterated his party's demand for a nationwide caste survey as well as implementation of reservation for Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs) and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in private academic institutions.
     Meanwhile, Mayawati, a former Uttar Pradesh chief minister and supremo of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) -- a party long identified with Dalits but whose political fortunes have tumbled -- said the "social, economic and political conditions of the Bahujans in the country are as pathetic in the BJP rule as in the Congress rule".
     Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav joined other parties in lauding Ambedkar and projecting his outfit as the true champion of his ideals.
     The former UP chief minister urged people to unite to strengthen the "PDA" movement to save the Constitution, a swipe at the BJP.
    "(Let us) reiterate that the Constitution is the life-giver and the Constitution is a shield and that as long as the Constitution remains safe, our honour, respect, self-respect and rights will remain safe," Yadav said.
     Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister and BJP leader Mohan Yadav accused the Congress of historically harbouring a "feeling of hostility" towards Ambedkar and demanded an apology from the party.
     Coinciding with Ambedkar's birth anniversary, the Congress government in Telangana issued an order on the implementation of SC categorisation, making it the first state in the country to do so, Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy said.
    The categorisation is aimed at ensuring that the more disadvantaged communities among SCs benefit from reservation as it has been alleged that its benefits are mostly cornered by socially and economically more empowered sections.
     Born in a Dalit family in 1891, Ambedkar was a brilliant student who went on to study abroad and made a mark for his scholarship in economics and law, and his passionate championing of the interests of Dalits at a time when the community was at the margins of social and political influence. The discrimination he suffered in Indian society turned him into a committed social reformer.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)