Mhow (MP) : The Congress held a mammoth ‘Jai Bapu, Jai Bhim, Jai Samvidhan’ rally at the birthplace of Dr Baba Saheb Bhim Rao Ambedkar.
The party president Mallikarjun Kharge condemned Union Home Minister Amit Shah for insulting Dr Ambedkar in the Rajya Sabha.
Speaking on the occasion Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi warned that the BJP and the RSS wanted to take India back to the pre-independent era as they were against the constitution.
Kharge and Gandhi also paid obeisance at the memorial of Baba Saheb Ambedkar after the rally.
Appealing to people to reject the ideology of Golwalkar, Savarkar and Hedgewar, Kharge urged people to follow the ideology of Mahatma Gandhi, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Baba Saheb Ambedkar.
He reiterated that the BJP and the RSS were trying to change the constitution. He warned that if the constitution was changed the poor, the Dalits, the backwards and the Adivasis will lose all their rights.
Paying tributes to Baba Saheb Ambedkar, Kharge said, he (Ambedkar) single handedly fought for the rights of the Dalits, the Backward Classes/OBCs and poor. He pointed out, Baba Saheb wanted equality in society and made so many laws for it.
He ridiculed the BJP leaders’ charges that the Congress got Ambedkar defeated. He quoted Ambedkar’s letter to a friend in which he (Ambedkar) had mentioned that he was supported by the Congress, while Savarkar conspired to get him defeated.
Accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, RSS and BJP workers of abusing the Congress leaders who built the nation, Kharge said they did not have any contribution towards fighting for the freedom of the country. He asserted that while the Congress was fighting for freedom, the RSS people were working and collaborating with the British.
Taking a dig at the BJP and the RSS for claiming that Pandit Nehru and Sardar Patel did not get along well with each other, Kharge told them (the RSS and the BJP) that it was Patel who had banned the RSS after they had celebrated the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi.
The Congress president alleged that the RSS and BJP people were anti-nationals themselves as they killed the greatest person of our era who brought independence to our country.
He also warned against attempts to try to find a temple under every mosque. Referring to the RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat’s statement on the issue, he said, while they (the RSS) people were saying one thing, they were doing completely opposite things.
Speaking on the occasion, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi said that there was an ideological fight going on with the RSS/BJP on the one side and the Congress on the other side. He said, while the Congress was protecting and defending the constitution, the BJP and the RSS wanted to change it.
He reiterated his resolve to get the caste census done in the country. Besides, he added, the fifty percent ceiling on the reservations will be removed. He said that there was discrimination with the Dalits, the Backward Classes and the Adivasis. He pointed out, they hardly got any representation or participation in various institutions.
Gandhi alleged that the constitution was under continuous attack from the RSS and the BJP. He pointed out how the BJP leaders would assert before the 2024 General Elections that once they got 400 plus seats, they would change the constitution. He said the Congress along with the INDIA partners stood firm against the BJP and as a result when Modi returned to the parliament he bowed before the same constitution that his party was planning to change.
He warned that the day the constitution is changed, there will be nothing left for the Dalits, the Adivasis, the Backward Classes and the poor. He reiterated his charge that Modi was only promoting and supporting a few billionaire friends like Adani and Ambani. He pointed out how Rs 16 lakh crores worth of debt of big billionaires was waived off.
Gandhi pointed out, prior to the independence and framing of the constitution, the poor, the Dalits, the BCs/OBCs and the Adivasis did not have any rights, which were enjoyed only by the Rajas and Maharajas. He said independence and the constitution changed everything. But, he warned, the BJP and the RSS want to go back to pre-independence days.
The Leader of Opposition referred to the massive unemployment prevailing in the country pointing out that even the IIT and IIM graduates were not getting any jobs.
Alleging discrimination with the Dalits, the Adivasis and the Backward Classes/OBCs, he pointed out the Adivasi President was not allowed to go inside the Ram Temple nor was she allowed inside the new building of the parliament when it was inaugurated.
Those present on the occasion included KC Venugopal, Bhanwar Jitendra Singh, Jitu Patwari, Revanth Reddy, Sukhwinder Sukhu, Digvijaya Singh, Kamal Nath and others.
