News Mania Desk / Piyal Chatterjee / 14th December 2024
Union Minister Kiren Rijiju slammed the Congress on Saturday for failing to give BR Ambedkar his due, questioning the opposition’s allegations that minorities are being denied their rights.
Intervening in the Lok Sabha debate commemorating 75 years of the Constitution’s adoption, the parliamentary affairs minister warned that “our words and actions should not diminish the image of the country in the world fora”. Rijiju spoke first on the second day of the Lower House discussion. While India has granted equal voting rights to all, some allege that minorities have no rights in the country, Rijiju stated in an apparent dig at the opposition.In his more than an hour-long address, Rijiju proposed that the Congress should “apologise”
Rijiju also questioned the delay in awarding Ambedkar the Bharat Ratna, claiming that the principal architect of the Constitution received India’s highest civilian accolade after a BJP-backed administration took office at the Centre.
Continuing his diatribe, Rijiju quoted Ambedkar as claiming that while Jawaharlal Nehru delivered over 2,000 speeches in 20 years, he never spoke about the welfare of Scheduled Castes “even once”.”Pandit Nehru is always for Muslims,” the minister stated, citing Ambedkar. Citing a paper, Rijiju stated that although Ambedkar argued for indefinite reservation till equality was attained, Nehru advocated for a 10-year period. Rijiju stated that successive governments worked for the wellbeing of minorities. “The Congress has also done that, I am not undermining its role.”
The minister also cited a survey, claiming that minorities, especially Muslims, face discrimination and hate crimes in numerous countries.The scenario in adjacent Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan, where minorities face persecution, is well known, he added. Rijiju noted that groups seek asylum in India because they believe the country is secure for them, and he questioned why such tales about minorities’ rights were being circulated.
