Ambedkar comment: Dalits seek action against BJP MLA

Hundreds of people from the Dalit community, led by professor Arvind Verma, launched a rally and staged a dharna before inspector general of police (IGP) Alok Vashistha in Bharatpur on Monday to protest BJP MLA Vijay Bansal’s statement that BR Ambedkar was not the architect of Indian constitution.

On Ambedkar’s 126th birth anniversary, when politicians were paying glowing tributes to the Dalit icon, Bansal had said that Ambedkar was just a member of a committee of which Rajendra Prasad was the chairperson. Politics of votes made him the architect of the Indian Constitution. After making the controversial and factually incorrect statement, the MLA added that Ambedkar was an intelligent person and there was no doubt about it.

On Monday, Dalits shouted slogans against the MLA from Bharatpur and took out a rally from powerhouse intersection to the IGP’s office, where they handed over a memorandum to Vashistha demanding that an FIR be registered against Bansal and he is suspended from the assembly.

Through a memorandum, they demanded that legal action should be taken against Bansal for hurting Dalit sentiments.

“Our protest will continue till legal action is taken against the MLA. We are demanding police action and suspension from the assembly,” Arvind Verma said.

When asked to comment on the protest, Bansal said that he has not said anything wrong. “I didn’t make a wrong comment on Ambedkar. Speaking the truth is not a mistake. My statement on Ambedkar was my personal opinion and doesn’t belong to my party. Only illiterate persons from a particular community are pushing this issue while the educated members of the community agree with me,” said Bansal.

Ambedkar was appointed the chairperson of the Constituent Assembly of India’s drafting committee and Rajendra Prasad, who later became India’s first president, was the president of the assembly. Ambedkar was also India’s first law minister.