Gwalior, Sep 19 (PTI): Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Thursday attacked Rahul Gandhi claiming that the Congress leader has talked about ending reservation and said BJP worships Dalit icon Dr Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar like a deity.
The BJP has alleged that Gandhi is against reservation for the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes after he told students at a US university that Congress would think of scrapping quota when “India is a fair place”, which he said is not the case right now.
“The Congress leader on a foreign land has made his party’s thoughts crystal clear on reservation. Rahul Gandhiji has said that the Congress will end reservation (given by Dr Ambedkar) if it comes to power,” Scindia told reporters here.
A close aide of Gandhi for years, Scindia joined the BJP in 2020 and was subsequently made a Union minister.
“I want to caution the brothers and sisters from Dalit and tribal communities. If Congress comes (to power), it will disrespect them the way it humiliated Babasaheb Ambedkar when he was alive,” he claimed responding to a query.
The Congress got Dr Ambedkar, the chief architect of India’s Constitution, defeated in an election and felicitated the victory, he said.
Whenever the BJP formed the government under the leadership of prime ministers Atal Bihari Vajpayee or Narendra Modi, it worshipped Dr Ambedkar like a deity, he said.
The scion of the erstwhile Gwalior kingdom said that PM Modi has been pushing for the development of Dalits and tribals. The Union Cabinet has cleared a Rs 80,000-crore project for the development of each of the tribal villages in the country, said Scindia.
“On the other hand, Rahul Gandhiji said on foreign soil that his party will abolish reservation. I call upon the brothers and sisters from our Dalit and tribal communities to wake up and rise along with us and face the Congress, which is nearing its end,” he added.
