Etawah, April 12 (IANS) Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday unveiled a statue of Dr B.R. Ambedkar, the architect of the Indian Constitution, at the Mahewa block in Etawah, Uttar Pradesh. Samajwadi Party’s national general secretary Shivpal Singh Yadav was also present during the event.
Speaking at the ceremony, Akhilesh Yadav accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of “trying to weaken the Constitution”. “I want to congratulate the party workers who installed Baba Saheb’s statue and pledged to walk the path shown by him to strengthen the country. The Constitution given to us by Baba Saheb serves as a shield, especially for the poor, marginalised, and oppressed. It shows a path to equality and dignity for all,” he said.
The SP chief emphasised that the party would continue to follow the ideologies of Dr Ambedkar, Dr Ram Manohar Lohia, and the struggle of Netaji (Mulayam Singh Yadav).
He pointed out that the statue of Baba Saheb placed alongside that of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee should serve as a lesson for the BJP. “We paid tribute to both leaders. This shows that the Constitution is equal for everyone. BJP leaders should also come and learn from this spirit of unity,” he added.
Commenting on the BJP’s Dalit outreach campaign starting April 14, Yadav said, “The BJP is trying to hide behind such campaigns because it fears our PDA (Pichhde, Dalit, Alpsankhyak) alliance. Baba Saheb faced caste discrimination even for basic rights like drinking water. The BJP’s sudden interest in Dalit issues seems politically motivated.”
He further said that the BJP is organising programmes only after the SP’s events have concluded. “They are simply trying to follow us. I hope they will apologise for the injustices they have done so far.”
–IANS
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