NEW DELHI, Apr 13: Rahul Gandhi will attend the launch of Dalit icon B R Ambedkar’s 125th birth anniversary celebrations in Mhow, Madhya Pradesh, next month, the second major public outreach programme of Congress after Kisan-Khet Mazdoor rally here on April 19 against NDA’s land acquisition law.
Faced with the daunting task of reviving its fortunes since the unprecedented setback in Lok Sabha poll last year, Congress is making a serious bid to counter the portryal of Ambedkar as “anti-Congress”.
Intending to reach out to Dalits in a bid to recover lost ground after a string of electoral reverses, party President Sonia Gandhi today huddled with top leaders to chalk out year- long celebration of 125th birth anniversary of the Dalit icon.
“Ambedkar is such an icon today that we fail to fully appreciate the remarkable scale of what he accomplished,” Gandhi said as she talked about the faith he “shared with” Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and all the stalwarts of the freedom movement.
Insisting that it is Congress party that implemented Ambedkar’s ideals like implementation of reservation in education and employment for SCs, AICC general secretary K Raju said that the party will strive to highlight “Ambedkar’s partnership with Congress leaders” in shaping the Constitution.
“Congress Party will effectively counter the propaganda unleashed by some Dalit parties that portryaed Ambedkar as anti-Congress,” he said.
Party Vice President Rahul Gandhi, who is Co-Chairperson of the Committee to finalise plans for the commemoration, was not present in the meeting. Sources in the party maintain that Rahul, who is on an over six-week long sabbatical, has not returned to the national capital so far.
Former Union minister Sushilkumar Shinde, who is the vice- chairperson of the committee to chalk out celebration plans, willk participate in commemmoration celebratrion in Ambedkar’s birthplace Mhow tomorrow.
“In the last week of May, there will be a national launch of Ambedkar’s 125th birth annversary celebrations in Mhow to be attended by the Congress Vice President,” the AICC said in a press release.
The year-long celebration plans by Congress have been chalked out at a time when the NDA Government, BJP and RSS have also decided to highlight the contribution of Ambedkar.
Congress’s move came amidst a realisation within that BJP was trying to “appropriate” the legacies of icons who were either ignored or perceived to have been ignored by the party.
In the press release, AICC says,”it is only Congress Governments that have done most to bring in laws for the socio-economic development of the disadvantaged…Ambedkar served as free India’s first Law Minister in Nehru’s cabinet. Ambedkar and Nehru had worked closely on social reform.
“…Most other non-Congress political parties have engaged in tokenism in order to appropriate the national icon for cheap political purposes…There has been a deliberate misinformation campaign about Ambedkar and Congress party, which needs to be corrected.”
Addressing a joint press conference with party veteran A K Antony and Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, Shinde said that Ambedkar does not belong to any particular section of society but to the whole nation.
He denied suggestions that Congress is holding the celebrations to garner votes of Dalits.
“There is no election right now. It has nothing to do with votes. We are celebrating Ambedkar’s birth anniversary like we have done in case of Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya and Jawaharlal Nehru. Ambedkar is a true son of India. How can we ignore him?” Shinde, a prominent Dalit face of Congress said. (PTI)
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