As part of All India Congress Committee (AICC)’s yearlong celebrations to commemorate the 125th birth anniversary of Babasaheb Dr. B.R. Ambedkar from April 14, 2015 to April 15, 2016, the Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee (NPCC) organised a programme at Conference Hall, Congress Bhavan, Kohima on Friday.
Speaking on the occasion, AICC secretary I/c Northeast Dr. K. Jayakumar spoke on the biography of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar and elucidated on how Babasaheb came to being a drafting member of the Indian Constitution.
He said Dr. Ambedkar always put the interests of the nation first, adding that the qualities of ‘Liberty, Equality and Fraternity’ were relevant even today and it was every citizen’s duty to promote brotherhood.Referring to a recent national survey which declared Dr. Ambedkar as ‘The Greatest Indian’ since 1947, AICC secretary said this underlined Dr. Ambedkar’s contribution in shaping the country to its present stature.
Slamming the RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat for repeatedly attempting to dilute the Reservation policy enshrined in the Constitution, Dr. Jayakumar said whenever BJP came to power, the rights of the SCs and STs were questioned.
“In their previous regime, Vajpayee appointed Venkata Challiah Committee for the same purpose and that such vested interests are threatening the Constitutional safeguards,” a press release issued by Media Cell, NPCC quoted him as saying. Accusing BJP government at the centre of entering bedrooms and censoring what people watch, Dr. Jayakumar said “today they are entering kitchens and censoring what people eat and tomorrow, they will enter bathrooms and find something to censor.”
Further, attacking RSS and the BJP for claiming the legacy of Dr. Ambedkar, he said their respective ideologies and philosophies were ‘180 degrees apart’.
Maintaining that while the RSS stood for hard-line Hindutva and promoted the Uniform Code, he said on the other hand Dr. Ambedkar was a pluralist who advocated equality, brotherhood and the inclusion of all peoples and showed the way of life to be happy and peaceful through the Constitution.
AICC secretary also slammed Union HRD Minister Smriti Irani for closing down the Ambedkar-Periyar Study Circle of the students at IIT Chennai by levelling dubious charges and for putting JNU students’ union president Kanhiya behind bars on false sedition charges. He said those charges would however not stay in the court of law.
Also, speaking on the occasion, AIMC general secretary (I/c-Northeast) Jarjum Ete said Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s farsightedness in advocating liberty, equality and fraternity was most relevant even today. Appreciating the celebration, she further appealed for women parity in all levels of organization to realize Dr. Ambedkar’s dream of equality for all citizens.
Dimapur Law College principal P. Leonard Aier also addressed the programme on ‘Constitution and the Judiciary’. The programme was chaired by NPCC general secretary Jonathn Ao and NPCC secretary James invoked God’s blessings.