New Delhi: The Congress on Thursday termed as “misleading” Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remarks that it did not recognise B R Ambedkar’s contribution, saying that he became the chairman of the drafting committee of the Constitution and a law minister with the support of the party and Jawaharlal Nehru.
Replying to the debate on the Motion of Thanks on the President’s Address in Rajya Sabha, the prime minister had said the Congress has been against Dalits, backwards, tribal community and had it not been for Babasaheb Ambedkar, they would not have got any reservation.
Citing a letter written by Jawaharlal Nehru to chief ministers, Modi said it clearly states that the first prime minister was against reservation of any kind, especially in jobs.
“The Congress, which never gave complete reservation to the OBCs, which never gave reservation to the poor of the general categoryand which did not consider Baba Saheb worthy of Bharat Ratna, kept giving Bharat Ratna only to its family. They are now preaching to us,” he had said.
Congress spokesperson Udit Raj said it is a matter of fact that the Congress encouraged and supported Dr B R Ambedkar.
“Whatever PM Modi said about Congress and B R Ambedkar, was untruthful and misleading. B R Ambedkar became a member of the constituent assembly and subsequently member and chairman of the drafting committee on Constitution and the law minister in the government with the support of Congress party and Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. Ambedkar himself acknowledged that in his speech in the Parliament,” Raj said.
Ambedkar was not a member of the Congress and yet he got this opportunity, the Congress leader added.
“PM Modi wants to mislead Dalits by stating untruthful things. The Congress and Ambedkar were complementary to each other. Another misinformation about Ambedkar and the Congress that the party caused his defeat in first election in 1952 is incorrect as it was veteran CPI leader S A Dange who defeated him,” Raj said.
“Ambedkar’s differences were with the Hindu society and he became a Buddhist. This incident is much more important than him quitting the Congress.
The same misinformation was propagated by another political party and Dalits got antagonised with the Congress,” he said.
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