Congress humiliates Ambedkar, against Dalits: Modi

Lakhimpur Kheri (Uttar Pradesh), April 14 (IANS) The Congress has humiliated Bhim Rao Ambedkar, a key architect of India's Constitution, on many occasions, and the party was against Dalits and has done everything to stop the development of people, BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi said Monday.

"This government is against Dalits and has done everything to stop the growth and development of people," Modi said at an election meeting at Lakhimpur Kheri, 130 km from Lucknow.

Pointing out that Ambedkar was conferred the Bharat Ratna by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, the Bharatiya Janata Party leader also said Jawaharlal Nehru had even stonewalled the purchase of 100 books on Lord Buddha written by Ambedkar.

He said the Congress, Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party were different sides of the same coin and the people have decided to punish them in the election for the growing unemployment, economic slowdown and price rise.

Modi also accused Congress president Sonia Gandhi of choking Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

"It is unfortunate that (Congress vice president) Rahul Gandhi does not know anything about the country's history and tradition," Modi said. "He cannot look beyond his own family."

"In our country, three members of the same family received Bharat Ratna. The Congress never gave Bharat Ratna to Ambedkar. This happened only when the BJP came to power."

At another rally in Laxmangarh in Sikar district of Rajasthan, he said: "The constitution has given us a lot of rights, including the right to speak. But can Madam Sonia tell us who has taken away the right of our prime minister to speak."

"If the rights given to us by the constitution had been implemented properly, then the country would not have been in such a bad state," he said.

He again said Rahul Gandhi was disrespecting Ambedkar.

"Day and night, shehzada is insulting Ambedkar. Wherever he (Rahul Gandhi) goes, he talks about giving different rights and acts. Isn't it an insult to Ambedkar?"

He said there will be a change in the government in Delhi.

"Time has come to finish the kind of politics we have seen in the last 60 years, the politics of division. Now the country needs unity, peace and brotherhood, only this will take the country forward," he said.

"The Congress is afraid that after May 16 it will have to give an account of the money it has looted."

He said late prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri had coined the slogan "Jai Jawan Jai Kisan" (Hail soldiers, farmers), but the Congress has turned it into "Maar Jawan Maar Kisan" (Kill soldiers, farmers).

Modi said that if the BJP comes to power, the Food Corporation of India will be divided into three units - one that will look after procurement, one for warehousing facilities and third for delivering the produce where it is needed.