Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that abrogation of Article 370 which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir was the true tribute to Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar who fought for the unity of the country but was ignored by the then ruling Congress party.
“Congress leaders were jealous of Dr Ambedkar’s talent because of which they never paid heed to him. Despite the warnings of Babasaheb, they added Article 370 to the Constitution in 1952. As expected, this Article became the cause of separatism. Finally, Prime Minister Narendra Modi honoured Dr Ambedkar by abrogating this Article,” Yogi said while addressing a programme organised by Dr Ambedkar Mahasabha to mark Dr Ambedkar’s Parinirvan Diwas here on Friday.
The chief minister said that post-Independence, many promises were made for the welfare of the most deprived section of society but no work was done with honesty.
“Had the work been done, the social and financial disparity would have been removed to a considerable extent by now. Actually, those who made the promises had no intention of fulfilling them. These were the same people who murdered the Constitution, whose architect was Dr Ambedkar. Those who insulted the Constitution are today fighting for their own survival,” he said.
Praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the chief minister said that “actual work in the interest of the poor has been done by the prime minister and we are carrying it forward”.
“Till now, 28 lakh Pradhan Mantri Awas, 2.61 crore toilets, free power supply to 1.16 crore people and free LPG connections to 1.46 crore families have been given. It is this class that has benefited the most from these schemes,” he said.
Five major landmarks of this country and abroad that were associated with Dr BR Ambedkar were developed into ‘Panchteerth’,” the chief minister said.
Yogi said that they wanted to build a memorial dedicated to Dr Ambedkar where programmes related to him could be organised in every season.
The chief minister appealed to Dr Ambedkar Mahasabha to identify young entrepreneurs of the community and arrange loans of Rs 1 crore each for them.
“There are approximately 18,000 bank branches in UP. If every branch helps in making one male and one female entrepreneur self-reliant, it will help in bringing financial and social equality in society,” he said.
The chief minister said Dr Ambedkar’s basic mantra for the society was education. “Be educated, set goals and work hard. Nobody can stop you from achieving your goals,” he said.
The event organised by Dr Ambedkar Mahasabha was also addressed by Bharatiya Janata Party state president Swatantra Dev Singh and Scheduled Castes Finance and Development Corporation president Dr Lalji Verma. State Minister Swami Prasad Maurya, Brajesh Pathak, Mayor Sanyukta Bhatia and other dignitaries were present on the occasion.
