Congress insulted Ambedkar on various occasions: Union Minister Kishan Reddy

Hyderabad: Taking exception to Congress attacking BJP for allegedly hurting Constitutional principles and insulting B R Ambedkar, Union Coal Minister G Kishan Reddy on Wednesday said it was the grand old party which had insulted the chief architect of the Constitution on various occasions.

Congress talks big about democracy, but it trampled upon the spirit of democracy and the Constitution during the Emergency by putting several political leaders and journalists in jail, he said, while speaking at the birth centenary celebrations of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee here.

“BJP does not need their (Congress) certificate on democracy, Constitution and Ambedkar. Congress had insulted Babasaheb Ambedkar on every occasion. Congress defeated him (Ambedkar) when he contested elections. The credit for making him resign as minister goes to Jawaharlal Nehru,” he said.

Congress, when in power, did not honour Ambedkar with Bharat Ratna, neither did the grand old party install his portrait in the central hall of parliament, he said.

The Narendra Modi government announced five iconic places associated with Ambedkar as ‘Panchteerth’, said Kishan Reddy, who is also Telangana BJP president.

Congress has always behaved as if only the Nehru family members had the right to rule the country and it insulted leaders from Ambedkar to Modi, he said.

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The “true colours of Congress and its anti-democratic, dictatorial, family and corrupt politics” should be conveyed to people during the centenary celebrations of Vajpayee, he said.

Kishan Reddy’s criticism against Congress came in the wake of the latter organising protests on Tuesday over Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s alleged “disrespectful” comments on Ambedkar in parliament. Congress had also alleged that the BJP was trying to change the Constitution.