Lucknow, Apr 14 (PTI) Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday took a swipe at the ruling BJP, alleging that a party under whose rule the most statues of B R Ambedkar were vandalised is now trying to send a “false message” by releasing funds for their beautification under the ‘Dr Ambedkar Moorti Vikas Yojana’.
On the occasion of Baba Saheb’s 135th birth anniversary, Yadav paid rich tributes to Dr BR Ambedkar at his statue in Lucknow.
Taking a dig at the BJP-led government’s decision to release a budget of Rs 403 crore for installing umbrellas over Ambedkar statues installed in the state and other beautification works, Yadav said that the party is giving a “false message before the elections by giving the budget”.
“During the last 10 years of the BJP government, the maximum number of statues of Dr Ambedkar were broken and those who are going to break them are the same people who want to give a false message before the elections by giving the budget. But the people of Uttar Pradesh are wise and also wary of the conspiracies of the BJP,” the SP chief said.
The Uttar Pradesh cabinet, under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, has already approved the Dr B R Ambedkar Murti Vikas Yojana, under which 10 memorials and statues of great icons of social justice will be developed or beautified in each assembly constituency, with a total expenditure of Rs 403 crore.
Under this scheme, statues and memorials of great personalities such as Babasaheb B R Ambedkar, Ravidas, Kabir, Jyotirao Phule and Valmiki, among others, will be preserved, beautified, and developed with basic infrastructure.
This will help preserve the legacy of social justice icons and connect the new generation with their ideas.
The SP chief alleged that at present there is continuous discrimination and injustice against Dalits and backward classes, especially against the PDA (backward Dalits and minorities) class and sometimes there is so much exploitation that some people even commit suicide for the sake of honour.
Yadav said that the Samajwadi Party is continuously fighting against the exploitation of the Bahujan community that has been going on for thousands of years and to establish a state of social justice and will continue to do so even if it takes a few years or a century.
Intensifying his attack on the BJP, the former UP chief minister said that those who talked about amending the Constitution after winning 400 seats in the last Lok Sabha elections have gone underground after being defeated by the public.
They have definitely gone underground, but everyone has to come together to defeat them, Yadav said.
He added that the Constitution of Baba Saheb Bhimrao Ambedkar is not just a paper document, but it is an iron sword that protects us.
“The Constitution is a shield for us, a lifesaver. The Constitution gives us justice. The Constitution is the gift of Baba Saheb Bhimrao Ambedkar, which gives us equality and an opportunity to move forward. The Constitution is our protector, and to protect it, we will always work to carry forward the principles of Baba Saheb Bhimrao Ambedkar,” Yadav said. PTI SLM/NAV NB NB
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.