Mumbai, Dec 24 (IANS) Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday accused the Congress party of doing politics in the name of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, saying that the grand old party did not give Bharat Ratna to him.

The CM was speaking to reporters a day after Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi visited Parbhani and met the family of a Dalit youth Somnath Suryavanshi who died in judicial custody after being arrested in connection with a protest triggered by the alleged desecration of a replica of the Constitution.

Fadnavis also targeted Congress over its move to stage protests across the country over Home Minister Amit Shah’s remarks on Ambedkar during a Constitution debate in the Rajya Sabha.

He claimed that Somnath Suryavanshi’s death has been politicised, saying that Rahul Gandhi's visit to Parbhani was an attempt to create hatred on caste lines.

“Rahul Gandhi wasted the time of Parliament, now he is wasting the time of the people. While speaking in Parliament, PM Modi exposed the Congress party and brought to the world how Pandit Nehru, Indira Gandhi and the Gandhi family opposed Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar and reservation in the Constitution. Therefore, the Congress party is playing a drama,” Fadnavis alleged.

“Congress did not allow Babasaheb Ambedkar to be elected. We had to campaign for so many years for a memorial to be built at Indu Mill, where he passed away. But Congress did not give a land for the memorial. But now, after Modi became the Prime Minister and I became the Chief Minister, there is a memorial which is coming up there. In London, where Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar studied, the house was put up for auction. During the Congress government, many organisations demanded that this house should not be put up for auction. But after our government came to power, we took possession of that house. BJP did the work of preserving the memory of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, while Congress only wants to do politics in his name. It did not even give Babasaheb the Bharat Ratna," said the CM while stepping up his attacks against the Congress.

Gandhi during his visit to Parbhani on Monday led a scathing attack against Fadnavis and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) alleging that systemic caste-based discrimination led to Suryawanshi’s death.

He also claimed that Suryawanshi’s death was "100 per cent custodial." He accused the state government of failing to protect Dalit lives and uphold the Constitution for which Suryawanshi was allegedly fighting before his arrest.

Courtesy Media Group: IANS

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