Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru

Bengaluru, Apr 14: Chief minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday firmly rejected allegations that the Congress party had ill-treated B R Ambedkar, stating that former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru had never opposed the architect of the Indian Constitution.

“Nehru never opposed Ambedkar. If that were the case, he would not have entrusted him with drafting the Constitution. When the Hindu Code Bill was introduced, Nehru backed it wholeheartedly. It was other forces within the country that stalled its implementation, not Nehru,” the chief minister said. He was addressing the inaugural ceremony of Babasaheb Ambedkar’s birth anniversary celebration, held on the grand steps of Vidhana Soudha.

Siddaramaiah took sharp aim at the BJP, accusing it of attempting to appropriate icons like Ambedkar, Mahatma Gandhi, and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel for political mileage.

“The same Manuwadi forces that opposed Ambedkar’s Constitution and were behind Gandhi’s assassination are now trying to lay claim to them. Just days after the Constitution was enacted, 'The Organiser' magazine had published articles criticising it. Ambedkar’s electoral defeat too was not because of the Congress but because of the roles played by Savarkar and communist leader S A Dange, as Ambedkar himself recorded in a letter,” Siddaramaiah said.

He pointed out that Ambedkar had chosen to embrace Buddhism after realising that reforms within Hinduism were not possible.

“Ambedkar had said, ‘I was born a Hindu, but I will not die a Hindu.’ He embraced Buddhism, a religion of equality and humanity,” Siddaramaiah said.

Highlighting his government’s commitment to Ambedkar’s ideals, Siddaramaiah said the administration was striving to implement the principles of education, organisation, and struggle advocated by Ambedkar.

“Ambedkar had warned that India would enter a society filled with contradictions. He stressed that unless the caste system was eradicated, true equality and the end of untouchability would remain a distant dream. Without Ambedkar, universal access to education would not have been possible,” he said.

Siddaramaiah criticised the previous BJP government, accusing it of slashing budget allocations meant for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes under the SCSP/TSP schemes. He said his government had increased support for these sections and introduced guarantee schemes aimed at enhancing the purchasing power of the people.

The chief minister also expressed concern that education was being misused to perpetuate caste divisions.

“Education should promote human values, not casteist mindsets. Muslims too must have access to education and opportunities, just as the Constitution envisions. But for trying to uphold these constitutional values, Congress is wrongly accused of minority appeasement,” he said.

Siddaramaiah concluded by announcing two major initiatives: the establishment of a Constitution Chair at the University of Mysore and the construction of a grand Ambedkar statue in Bengaluru, which he said would be bigger than the one in Andhra Pradesh.