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Ambedkar Jayanti: PM, other politicians pay tribute, day marked by Dalit protest

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Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar

Amid attacks from opposition and trying hard to combat the anti-Dalit image of the BJP, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP president Amit Shah and other party leaders made a beeline to pay tribute to Dr BR Ambedkar on his 127th birth anniversary on Saturday, April 14.

PM Modi said in a statement: “Pujya Babasaheb gave hope to lakhs of people belonging to the poorest and marginalised sections of society. We remain indebted to him for his efforts towards the making of our Constitution.”

President Ram Nath Kovind greeted the nation to say: “Homage to Dr B.R. Ambedkar on his birth anniversary. An icon of our nation, Dr Ambedkar was a multifaceted personality who waged a life-long struggle for a modern India free of caste and other prejudices, ensuring equal rights to women and for the disadvantaged.”

BJP chief Amit Shah paid tribute to Ambedkar at the party office in Delhi.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi tweeted: “His life and thoughts about equality, humanity, brotherhood, social justice give us inspiration to carry on the struggle.”

The day was marked also by protests from Dalits. In Delhi, some people from the community “cleansed” BR Ambedkar’s statue soon after Union Minister Maneka Gandhi and BJP leaders paid floral tributes to the Dalit icon. Members of the Dalit community claimed that the presence of BJP leaders had ‘polluted’ the atmosphere.

A group of Sikhs too protested against alleged atrocities perpetrated against minority communities in India during the commemoration of Babasaheb Ambedkar’s birth anniversary at the United Nation’s headquarters.

Modi government and BJP, tried to reach out to Dalits in the aftermath of their violent protests, asserting that at every juncture they stand “shoulder to shoulder” with the community and accused the Congress of fuelling tension in the society with an eye on elections.

Earlier this month, Modi had blasted opposition parties for politicising Ambedkar’s legacy, blaming the previous governments for not paying due respects to the Dalit icon.

The Congress hit back, accusing the BJP of ‘eroding’ the legacy of Baba Saheb Ambedkar and said PM Modi was merely paying him lip service as his party and the RSS have an ‘anti-Dalit mindset’. Congress leader Selja charged the prime minister with doing politics over the legacy of the Dalit icon.

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati said the BJP’s overdrive to cultivate Dalits with the help of optics won’t cut ice with the community.

“I want to tell Modi ji and his government that commemorating places related to Babasaheb’s life and inaugurating schemes in his name, will in no way lead to development of Dalits,” said Mayawati.

In Ahmedabad, five men including members of Rashtriya Dalit Adhikar Manch, were detained when they tried to protest garlanding of Ambedkar’s statue at Sarngpur in Ahmedabad by BJP MP Kirit Solanki.

Alleging that BJP is anti-dalit, convener of Rashtriya Dalit Adhikar Manch and Vadgam MLA Jignesh Mevani had given call to prevent BJP members from paying tribute to Ambedkar on his birth anniversary. But events led by Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani in Gandhinagar and BJP president Jitu Vaghani in Surat did not see any protest.

In western Uttar Pradesh, Meerut, which witnessed widespread protests by Dalits during the nationwide protests on April 2, was on high alert. The security measures taken include blocking of internet services from 9 pm on Friday to 8 pm on Saturday, an official at the district magistrate’s office said.

Punjab’s Phagwara was tense after a communal clash broke out between a Dalit and a Hindu outfit over renaming of a traffic intersection in a bid to pay tribute to Ambedkar late Friday night.

Before the nation commemorated the birth anniversary of the Dalit icon, a statue of BR Ambedkar in Richhpal Garhi village of Bisrakh in Greater Noida was found damaged. The incident came to light Thursday morning when the villagers spotted the statue of Ambedkar damaged. Heavy police force was deployed in view of the tense situation. According to media reports, Suniti Singh, SP (rural), said a case was registered against unknown persons for vandalism and that the guilty would not be spared. A large number of people from nearby villages had gathered after news of the vandalism spread. Police, however, contained the mob. Singh said that the damaged statue was being replaced with a new one.

On Friday, Dalits took strong objection to the painting of the upper part of an under-construction Ambedkar memorial in Uttar Pradesh’s Gorakhpur in saffron. The protesters, however, said a private jewellery firm had undertaken the painting work as part of its corporate social responsibility (CSR) project and “the government had nothing to do with it”.

Chandrashekhar, the president of a local Dalit group, said, “They would have painted the entire memorial saffron had we not protested.” “The jewellery firm agreed to our demand to re-paint it in white and used red paint to write “Ambedkar Chauraha” on it. The government wasn’t involved in this,” he said.

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Bollywood actor Govinda joins Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena

Govinda on his official induction in the party by CM Eknath Shinde said he is joining Shiv Sena and it is a blessing from God. He said he thought he would not enter politics again. Govinda said Mumbai looks cleaner and better now.

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Bollywood actor Govinda joined Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena on Thursday ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra. In 2004 Govinda contested from Mumbai North Lok Sabha on a Congress ticket and earned the nickname of a giant slayer as he defeated BJP’s Ram Naik. He resigned from the party and said that he had decided to take a break from politics.

Govinda on his official induction in the party by CM Eknath Shinde said he is joining Shiv Sena and it is a blessing from God. He said he thought he would not enter politics again. Govinda said Mumbai looks cleaner and better now. He said his parents had a good relationship with Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray.

Shiv Sena leader Krishna Hedge met the Bollywood actor at his residence in Juhu. Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde said the actor’s joining the Shiv Sena does not come with a rider. Govinda said whatever work is assigned to him, he will do it to the best of the ability. He said he was a part of the 14th Lok Sabha and has returned to politics after 14 years.

Speaking about his role in politics, the actor said he would transform the film city of Mumbai. He did not reply when he was asked about contesting elections. Govinda said everybody has seen the same level of progress in Maharashtra in the last 2 years, as it has been seen in the country in the last 10 years. He said he is going to focus on the beautification of the state and work towards the growth of art and culture.

Rajya Sabha MP Milind Deora welcomed Govida into the party and said he has known the veteran Bollywood actor for almost 25 years. He recalled the 2004 election and said both of them had fought elections together.

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To browbeat, bully others is vintage Congress, says PM Modi after lawyers express concern over attempts to undermine judiciary

Lawyers, including Harish Salve and Bar Council chairperson Manan Kumar Mishra, wrote to CJI DY Chandrachud, alleging that a vested interest group is trying to put pressure on the judiciary and defame courts, particularly in cases of corruption involving politicians.

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PM Narendra Modi on Thursday launched a scathing attack on the Congress party after more than 600 lawyers and some bar associations across the country wrote to the Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, expressing concerns over attempts to undermine the judiciary’s integrity using political and professional pressure.

Taking to social media platform X, PM Modi wrote that to browbeat and bully others is vintage Congress culture. He recalled that five decades ago, the party itself had called for a committed judiciary, adding that they shamelessly want commitment from others for their selfish interests, but desist from any commitment towards the nation. He concluded that no wonder, 140 crore Indians are rejecting them.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s comments followed after lawyers, including Harish Salve and Bar Council chairperson Manan Kumar Mishra, wrote to CJI DY Chandrachud, alleging that a vested interest group is trying to put pressure on the judiciary and defame courts, particularly in cases of corruption involving politicians.

The lawyers said the tactics used by the vested interest group are damaging the courts and threatening democratic fabric. They stated that Chief Justice Chandrachud’s leadership is crucial in these tough times and the Supreme Court should stand strong, adding it is not the time to maintain dignified silence.

Without naming, the letter also targeted a section of lawyers and alleged they defend politicians by day and then try to influence judges through the media at night. Furthermore, they claimed that some elements are trying to influence who the judges are in their cases and spread lies on social media to put pressure on the judges to decide in a particular way.

In addition, the All Manipur Bar Association had also written to CJI DY Chandrachud highlighting the need to speak out against underhanded attacks on the judiciary on Wednesday. In its letter, the bar association said that it was extremely concerned about recent trends where vested interest groups were trying to defame the courts with frivolous logic and stale political agendas.

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Delhi Court extends ED custody of CM Arvind Kejriwal till April 1

CM Kejriwal made a submission in front of the court, where he said that in the 31,000 page document prepared by the ED, there is no concrete proof or allegations against him on the basis of which he has been arrested.

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The Delhi Rouse Avenue Court on Thursday has extended the Enforcement Directorate (ED) remand of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal till April 1. The Chief Minister will remain in custody till Monday, after which he will be presented in front of the court bench for further proceedings in the case.

The court has passed its order for the extension of the remand in the money laundering case related to the Delhi excise policy, being investigated by the ED for the last two years. Arvind Kejriwal is the fourth Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader to be arrested in this case. Previously, Satyendar Jain, Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh were arrested in the same case. 

During the hearing today, the ED argued that Arvind Kejriwal needs to be brought face to face with some of the accused in the excise policy case. The ED further said that the data in one of the mobile phones, belonging to Arvind Kejriwal’s wife Sunita, was extracted and is being analyzed.

Nonetheless, data from the other 4 digital devices seized during search at Arvind Kejriwal’s premises on March 21 are yet to be extracted as the arrestee has sought time to provide password/login credentials after consulting with his lawyers.

In its fresh remand plea, the investigation agency said that during Arvind Kejriwal’s custodial interrogation, his statements were recorded on five days and that he was giving evasive replies. It further said the statements of three other persons have also been recorded during the remand.

CM Kejriwal made a submission in front of the court on Thursday, where he said that in the 31,000 page document prepared by the ED, there is no concrete proof or allegations against him on the basis of which he has been arrested.

Meanwhile, Arvind Kejriwal’s wife Sunita Kejriwal said on March 28 that the AAP national convener is not keeping well and is being harassed a lot while in ED custody over the past week. She asserted that the Chief Minister is being harassed a lot and his sugar levels are fluctuating.

CM Arvind Kejriwal was arrested by the ED on March 21 and was sent to 7-days of custody. His arrest has triggered protests in the national capital and the nearby northern state of Punjab, which is also governed by AAP, over the last few days.

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