BJP Accuses K'taka CM Siddaramaiah of Insincere Admiration for Ambedkar
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Bengaluru, Dec 18 (NationPress) The Karnataka unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has condemned Chief Minister Siddaramaiah for attacking Union Home Minister Amit Shah, asserting that the senior BJP figure had 'disrespected' B.R. Ambedkar.
Leader of the Opposition R. Ashoka and Karnataka BJP president B.Y. Vijayendra have challenged CM Siddaramaiah’s assertions of reverence for Ambedkar, labeling them as superficial and merely a facade.
R. Ashoka remarked: "As the esteemed poet Kanakadasa once said, 'what value is there in penance or faith if one is steeped in pretense and impurity?' It is high time for you, CM Siddaramaiah, to abandon this pretentious expression of love and veneration for Dr. B.R. Ambedkar."
Kanakadasa is a celebrated poet revered by the Kuruba community, from which CM Siddaramaiah originates.
Ashoka added: "It was your Congress party that defeated Ambedkar in elections, denied him land for his cremation, and shamelessly awarded the Bharat Ratna to its own leaders while neglecting Ambedkar. Distorting Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s speech only serves to insult Babasaheb once again.
"It's no wonder that Amit Shah’s address, which laid bare the Congress' betrayals and profound disrespect towards Ambedkar, has left you feeling embarrassed and frustrated."
The BJP leader further stated: "Had the public not turned against Congress, which awarded the Bharat Ratna to itself while ignoring Ambedkar, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi might have received the honor instead of Ambedkar. It required a BJP-supported government to confer the Bharat Ratna on Ambedkar.
"If the populace had not rejected Congress—the party that denied Ambedkar a proper burial site—the five significant locations associated with his life (birth, education, and demise) would not have transformed into the revered Panchteerths they are today."
“You (Siddaramaiah), who spend vast sums organizing 'Siddaramaotsava', have never contemplated organizing an 'Ambedkar Utsav'. For you, Ambedkar is merely a figure recalled during elections. To win over the high command for power and position, you didn’t even think of renaming Indira Canteens as Ambedkar Canteens. This indicates your lack of genuine dedication to Ambedkar. In your six and a half years as Chief Minister, have you named even one initiative after Ambedkar?
"You can only manipulate Amit Shah’s speech and showcase half-truths to mislead the public. But no level of deceit can obscure your and your anti-Dalit Congress party's hypocrisy regarding Ambedkar and the Constitution he established. It is evident to the entire state that your respect for Ambedkar is neither sincere nor authentic—it is simply an electoral tactic," Ashoka criticized.
In response to the remarks made by the Union Home Minister in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah expressed on Wednesday that had B.R. Ambedkar not been born, he (Siddaramaiah) might have been herding cattle in his village while Amit Shah would have been running a scrap business in his hometown.
In an open letter to HM Amit Shah, CM Siddaramaiah stated: "Our senior leader, Mallikarjun Kharge Ji, would not have ascended to lead the AICC and might have been employed in a factory in Kalaburagi. We owe every stride of our progress and dignity to Babasaheb and the Constitution he provided us."
