NEW DELHI: The political class rushed to embrace and celebrate BR Ambedkar with generous tributes on his 135th birth anniversary, adding to the unprecedented celebrations by his followers across cities, and cementing the iconic leader’s status as the sole bipartisan figure on the contemporary socio-political firmament.
Political biggies PM Narendra Modi, Sonia Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi among others gathered for annual garlanding and floral tributes at the Ambedkar statue in the Parliament complex, while regional leaders like Mayawati, Akhilesh Yadav and Tejashwi Yadav, and CMs Siddaramaiah, MK Stalin, Mohan Yadav among others attended public programmes to laud the framer of the Constitution. Telangana CM Revanth Reddy implemented the policy of “sub categorization of SCs” on the “auspicious occasion” of Ambedkar Jayanti, calling it a “great act of social justice”.
The celebrations from the politicians merged seamlessly with the many roadshows and bus trips to Ambedkar parks taken out by Ambedkar’s common supporters, that turned towns and cities into a sea of blue.
If Ambedkar is enjoying a pan-political popularity which appears unprecedented in post-independent India, it is largely owing to the emancipator having emerged as the bridge to the sprawling dalit populace that forms a critical vote base for the parties. The success of the anti-BJP opposition’s “Constitution in danger” campaign during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections appears to be egging the political organisations to make full-throttled attempts to appropriate Ambedkar.
Evidently, the celebration presented an opportunity to undermine the claim of rivals on Ambedkar. At a rally in Haryana, Modi took potshots at Congress for “insulting” the late mascot during his lifetime with his election defeat in 1952 elections, and blamed the arch opponent for the condition of the deprived classes in the country. Congress chief Kharge retaliated by quoting Ambedkar to accuse RSS mascot VD Savarkar of plotting his poll defeat, and by calling RSS-BJP as the “enemies of Ambedkar”.
