 "Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar")
The political battle for the legacy of Dalit icon B R Ambedkar starts Thursday, his 125th birth anniversary. And the battle will keep intensifying as Uttar Pradesh (UP) assembly polls (early 2017) draw closer.
Political parties, from those which swear by him and others trying to appropriate his legacy, like Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress, will take part in several events to celebrate the occasion.
Modi is set to address a rally at the birthplace in Mhow, Madhya Pradesh, to launch his government’s 10-day Gram Uday se Bharat Uday Abhiyan or village self-governance campaign. The campaign aims to foster farmers’ welfare and social harmony in villages, and aims to strengthen panchayati raj. Later in the day, the PM will inaugurate a platform for integrating wholesale markets in the country. BJP chief Amit Shah will address a rally on the occasion in Haridwar. The BJP has asked its Lok Sabha members, including ministers, and particularly those from UP, to be in their constituencies on April 24, the last day of the village self-governance campaign. Arun Jaitley, Smriti Irani, Suresh Prabhu, and Manohar Parrikar, all Rajya Sabha members, will be in UP when the PM addresses all gram sabhas in the country on that day from Jamshedpur. The BJP chief will also be in UP on that day.
The government has also directed 350 of its officers to go to as many gram panchayats, to spread the word about pro-Dalit, pro-poor, and pro-farmer policies.
Rahul Gandhi, the Congress vice-president, addressed a public rally in Nagpur on Monday. It marked the culmination of the party’s year-long series of events to mark the 125th anniversary. On Wednesday, he was in Rajasthan to demand a central probe into the rape and murder of a Dalit girl in Barmer. He also attended a Dalit conference in Jaipur.
One of the more important political events on Thursday will be Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati’s public rally in Lucknow. She is expected to launch her party’s election campaign for the state polls. Her speech will be keenly listened to for its nuances, particularly after reports that there might be another Central Bureau of Investigation case against her on a disproportionate assets charge.
Of late, Mayawati has focused her criticism on the BJP, instead of her main rival, the Samajwadi Party (SP). The SP government in UP might be losing credibility but Mayawati wants to dispel any accusations that she could align with the BJP. The BSP chief has been criticising both the Congress and BJP’s outreach towards Dalits as attempts to mislead the community.
There is speculation that BSP and Asaduddin Owaisi’s AIMIM might reach an understanding for the state polls. BSP leader Naseemuddin Siddiqui recently met Shia religious leader Kalbe Jawad. Over the past year, BSP cadres have been working in their areas with the objective of making Mayawati the chief minister of UP for a fifth time.
