'Fake Gandhis' conspired to stop Ambedkar centenary celebrations in Karnataka: Union Minister

Hubballi (Karnataka), April 13 (IANS) Union Minister for Food, Public Distribution and Consumer Affairs, Pralhad Joshi, on Sunday, alleged that "fake Gandhis" conspired to prevent the centenary celebrations of B.R. Ambedkar's visit to Nippani town in Karnataka.

Speaking at the BJP-organised 'Bheem Hejje Centenary Celebrations', an awareness programme event in Hubballi, Union Minister Joshi accused the Congress high command of instructing the state government to halt events meant to honour Ambedkar.

The Union Minister demanded that Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge apologise to the Dalit community for the Congress-led state government's failure to celebrate the Bheem Hejje centenary.

He said, "This lapse may have been due to some pressure. For that, they must seek forgiveness from the nation and assure that going forward, they will organise programmes to honour Ambedkar without any shortcomings."

The Union Minister urged Mallikarjun Kharge to apologise on behalf of the nation for failing to respect the Constitution authored by Ambedkar and his unparalleled contributions and sacrifices.

He advised that the Congress President should issue directions to all Congress-led governments to ensure Ambedkar-related events are celebrated with due respect.

Taking a jab at the state government, Union Minister Joshi said that even though Mallikarjun Kharge is the Congress President, his word holds no weight in the Congress dominated by "fake Gandhis".

He added that the same situation prevails in the state government as well.

Union Minister Joshi reiterated that the state must first apologise to the community for not celebrating the centenary of Bheem Hejje.

He asserted that it was the NDA government that developed Deeksha Bhoomi, where Ambedkar embraced Buddhism -- not the Congress, which, he said, is filled with fake Gandhis.

He criticised Minister Priyank Kharge, saying he was unaware of historical facts.

He also slammed the Congress, saying that former PMs, late Indira Gandhi and Jawahar Lal Nehru, declared themselves Bharat Ratna recipients, but never gave the honour to Ambedkar.

"They didn't even allocate land for an Ambedkar memorial in Delhi. Don't the Congress leaders feel ashamed?" he asked.

He noted that the Congress-led state government celebrated Mahatma Gandhi's centenary visit to Belagavi.

"It seemed more like a Congress party gathering funded by public money. Still, it was good that they remembered Gandhi's visit."

"But the same Belagavi district, where Ambedkar had visited Nippani a hundred years ago, saw no such commemoration -- thanks to the influence of fake Gandhian narratives," Union Minister Joshi said, expressing disappointment with the Congress government.