Exclusive/ ‘Congress Erased Baba Ambedkar’s Legacy…’: Kiren Rijiju Accused Congress For Insulting Baba Saheb

New Delhi: Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju, in an exclusive conversation with Republic Media Network, accused the Congress party of deliberately erasing the legacy of Bharat Ratna Dr BR Ambedkar, the architect of India's Constitution. Union Minister Rijiju claimed that during Congress's long tenure in power, the party removed facts about Ambedkar's contributions from the public domain, leaving many people unaware of his significance. Putting an example from the recently concluded Maharashtra Assembly elections, the Union Law Minister said that many people from the SC/ST or the Buddhist communities were not aware of the fact, how the Congress disregarded Baba Saheb Ambedkar and how he had to explain it to them by presenting facts with historical events.

Talking to Republic Media Network, the union minister and senior BJP leader alleged that the Congress party insulted BR Ambedkar repeatedly and further continued by denying him the most deserving award, ‘Bharat Ratna’. Notably, it was after 1990, when the Congress party was ousted from power, and a non-Congress party-led government conferred the ‘Bharat Ratna’ award on Dr Ambedkar.

People Gradually Came To Know The Reality of Congress: Kiren Rijiju

Rijiju believes that the people gradually came to know about the reality, which further led to a large chunk of SC/ST and Buddhist communities voting against the Congress party in the recent Maharashtra elections.

Kiren Rijiju pointed out that it took 71 years for another Buddhist, himself, to become the Law Minister after Dr BR Ambedkar's resignation in 1951. He called it as a matter of pride for his community and a testament to the BJP's commitment to preserving Ambedkar's legacy.

BJP leader Kiren Rijiju's statements come amid a broader debate about Ambedkar's legacy and its treatment by the then Congress governments.

Responding to a question on Ambedkar, Rijiju stated, “You have to accept the reality that after 1974, it was the Congress party for a long-long time. So, by that time, most of the facts of the history were removed or at least not allowed to come into the public domain. People were not aware of them. Even in the recent elections of Maharashtra, many people from my community were not aware of how Congress insulted Baba Saheb Ambedkar. I had to explain it to the people.”

“I became the first law minister after 71 years in my community. BR Ambedkar resigned as law minister in 1951, then I was appointed as law minister by Modi ji in 2021. So, after a gap of 71 years, another Buddhist became the law minister of this country. This is a matter of pride for our community, for SC/ST and my other communities,” the union minister asserted.

Rijiju stated, “People realised why Congress obliterated the legacy of BR Ambedkar. So people started knowing the reality and they decided to teach Congress a lesson. And that is why, in the Maharashtra election, a large chunk of SC/ST and the Buddhist communities particularly, voted against the Congress party, because they realised that the Congress party had fooled our community for too long. So, that's why I am saying that for a long time, Congress was in power, so they completely removed Ambedkar's legacy including denying him the Bharat Ratna award.”