Mumbai, Sep 6 (PTI) Union Minister for Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju on Friday said it was a shame followers of Babasaheb Ambedkar fell for the Congress’ fake narrative that the BJP would change the Constitution if it won 400 seats in the Lok Sabha polls.
BJP leaders have often said the narrative cost them dearly in the Lok Sabha polls, results of which were announced on June 4. The party lost its majority in the Lok Sabha and ended up with just 240 seats.
Speaking at a ‘Samvidhan Jagar Yatra’, which has been organised by the BJP across the state to counter this narrative of the opposition, Rijiju said, “The Congress has consistently marginalised the legacy of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar. A review of parliamentary records reveals that even the first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Rajiv Gandhi, who secured more than 400 Lok Sabha seats in the 1980s, opposed reservations.” “It is a matter of shame that individuals who follow Dr Ambedkar are susceptible to the narrative propagated by the Congress that the BJP would change the Constitution. Even one person who believes in the teachings of Dr Ambedkar but votes for the Congress is a matter of shame for all of us. It is incomprehensible,” he asserted.
The treatment meted out to Babasaheb Ambedkar by the Congress was not a 1000-year-old episode but something that is properly documented as it took place just some decades ago, he added.
“Despite this, the Congress said the BJP will change the Constitution and lakhs of people from the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes fell prey to the narrative. We are educated people who have seen the world. How can we be so gullible? I wish Babasaheb Ambedkar had written a book about the humiliation he faced from the Congress,” Rijiju said.
The Union minister said the government will announce special economic packages for areas associated with the legendary social icon and jurist, including infrastructure, schools, hostels and training centres.
“I will visit those places and announce such projects. There will be classrooms, hostels, skill development and training centres dedicated to women. The financial package has already been designed,” he said.
The Congress had turned the Union minority affairs ministry into the “Muslim affairs ministry” though there are six minority communities, namely Muslims, Buddhists, Sikhs, Christians, Jains and Parsi, in the country, he said.
“During the Congress, the head of the ministry was always a Muslim. Under Prime Narendra Modi, a Buddhist like me is heading the ministry. A Sikh heads the National Commission for Minority Affairs,” he told the gathering. PTI ND BNM
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