Congress forgets Ambedkar, BSP tosses it up as anti-Dalit

Congress has been caught on the wrong foot in Uttar Pradesh (UP). The posters it initially made for Dr BR Ambedkar’s birth anniversary on April 14 didn’t have the Dalit icon’s photo on them.

Though the party soon came out with a fresh batch of posters with Ambedkar’s photo displayed prominently on them, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) was quick to condemn Congress as anti-Dalit.

“The posters have once again exposed the Congress’s real face. The party has always been thwarting Ambedkar’s agenda aimed at Dalit welfare,” UP BSP chief Swami Prasad Maurya said.
The Congress stressed that the poster controversy was part of the BSP’s conspiracy to malign its image.

“BSP is responsible for this mischief,” UP Congress spokesman Dwijendra Tripathi said.

He said the posters without Ambedkar’s photo were put up by BSP workers. Both parties are expected to hold programmes in Ambedkar Nagar on Wednesday.

The war of words indicate how both sides will be ready to slug it out that day.

While Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi is slated to start the party’s Dalit Chetna Yatra, the BSP plans to flag off an agitation to “expose the misdeeds” of the Congress and failure of the UPA at the same place on the same day.