New Delhi, September 24 (IANS) BSP supremo Mayawati on Tuesday targeted Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and said that his reservation policy for SC-ST and OBC is double standard. Supporting her statement, Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Ramdas Athawale said that the Congress party has not done anything for the upliftment of Dalits.
Talking to IANS, Ramdas Athawale said, “Mayawati’s allegation against Congress is absolutely correct. Mahatma Gandhi had also declared to eradicate untouchability from the country, but despite being in power for 70 years, Congress did not succeed in eradicating untouchability. They have not done any work for the progress of Dalits. They have not done any work that would uplift Dalits. I completely agree with Mayawati’s statement. She has said the right thing. Congress has always been anti-Dalit.”
Accusing the Congress, he said, “Congress had defeated Baba Saheb Ambedkar twice in Lok Sabha elections. In the first election of the country in 1952, a Dalit candidate of Congress defeated Baba Saheb. After this, in 1954, Baba Saheb stood from a place near Nagpur, there too the Congress candidate defeated Baba Saheb. Congress never fulfilled Baba Saheb’s dream. They did not even put Baba Saheb’s photo in the central hall. Congress did not give Baba Saheb the respect he deserved. They did not even build a museum at the place where he sat and wrote the Constitution. Even though Dr. Ambedkar Foundation was established, but during the tenure of Congress, there was only an office there. The Bharatiya Janata Party fixed things at that place by spending Rs 350 crore. The Maharashtra government bought Baba Saheb’s house for Rs 41 crore and built a Baba Saheb Memorial there. Prime Minister Narendra Modi went there. I was also present in this program.”
He said, “A very big memorial of Baba Saheb is being built in Mumbai too, a 350 feet statue of Baba Saheb will be installed in it. About 1200 crore rupees are being spent in building this memorial. Narendra Modi government has done many works in honour of Baba Saheb. But the Congress party only took votes of Dalits and exploited them.
–IANS
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