Karnataka: For BJP, Congress, Ambedkar suddenly turns the icon
Bengaluru: Political parties and their workers are suddenly waxing eloquent over the architect of the Constitution, Dr B.R. Ambedkar whose 125th birth anniversary falls on Thursday.
The ruling Congress party proved that it still holds Dr Ambedkar with a lot of respect by organising a function at Ambedkar Bhavan on Wednesday. Besides engaging in the usual rhetoric of hitting out at the BJP and Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, the party invited Kannada writer and Bandaaya movement pioneer, Prof. Baraguru Ramachandrappa to deliver a lecture on him.
On Thursday, the government will host a big function in front of Vidhana Soudha where an engineer from Chamaraja Nagar who worked for the Dalit cause would be honoured with the Ambedkar award.
Not to be left behind, the BJP has lined up several programmes. To woo voters and to drive home a point that BJP is the party which can understand the oppressed classes better, the party has instructed its legislators to have lunch with Dalits besides adopting Dalit families.
The party has instructed its legislators to organise functions in their constituencies where Dr Ambedkar’s contributions would be highlighted.
On Thursday, the newly appointed BJP state president B.S. Yeddyurappa will take charge and then drive down to Vidhana Soudha to pay his respects to Dr Ambedkar.
In Mysuru, BJP workers hosted a lunch at Ashokpuram on Wednesday. As part of the programme called "Sahapankthi bojana", Murgurajendra math seer from Chithradurga, Dr Shivamurthy Murugarajendra swamy, BJP leader S A Ramdas, deputy mayor, Vanitha Prasanna, had their lunch at Dalit houses. The JD (S) too has organised a function in the city on Thursday. A former Dalit MLA is a special invitee to the function.